Can the Democrats win the U.S. Presidential election using musicians and influencers?

Lil Jon, Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle all played at a massive show this week — and it wasn't at a music festival. The musical stars took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Today on Commotion, culture writers Liisa Ladouceur, Kristy Puchko and Jackson Weaver join guest host Ali Hassan to discuss how music became a big part of political messaging for the Democrats, and whether they think it can shift voting patterns. 

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Ali: Liisa, is using this type of music an effective way to appeal to voters? 

Liisa: I don't know if it changes voters. There's a lot of people wishing that Taylor Swift would get involved because they think it would make people vote. But I think maybe other than Taylor and Beyoncé, I don't think that music is going to affect the vote.

But it brings a party to the party for the people who are there. And for those of us at home, it's very emotional…. They're expressing things through music on the stage that maybe the speakers are not able or won't say. 

Ali: Kristy, in addition to Lil Jon, the DNC also had featured performances from country artists like Jason Isbell, Mickey Guyton, Maren Morris. What message do you think the Democrats are trying to convey through these particular musical selections? 

Kristy: I think it was a really smart strategy because look at the reaction. People online had a lot of thoughts about it. But the overall thing is, it's not just the people who are talking about it, it's the way they did this. The way they picked the artists that they picked, the way they picked the songs that they picked, was saying, "The RNC doesn't get to decide what defines us as Americans, and it doesn't get to claim the flag." 

I think between that and the Olympics, where we had Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav, and now Lil Jon, I love the idea that rap superstars get to be the face of a distinct brand of patriotism in America. And I think what it does is it communicates that as much as the RNC is trying to be like, "We're for the every-person," it's like, no. Think of the celebrities at the RNC. Was your reaction not like, "Oh, that guy's still alive?"

Ali: The great Kid Rock, is that who you speak of? 

Kirsty: Could be, truly! Pick one. Pick him. Pick Hulk Hogan. 

I'm not just saying that these are old people. I'm not saying all liberals are famous or all famous people are liberals. But the people who are willing to come out and be like, "I stand by this and this is my ideology," you saw that on display. You saw people being like, "I'm going to stick my neck out. I don't care what my fans say, I'm doing whatever." 

The same week that Trump is using AI Taylor Swift to try to trick people into voting for him, this was such a slap in the face, where they were like, "Look at all the artists that are completely comfortable being tied to this party." It was a really interesting way to use pop culture to remind people what the Democrats are attempting to do. 

Ali: Jackson, what has been the definitive moment for you from the DNC? 

Jackson: We just had a big article about this…. But it was basically what Liisa said: that celebrities can't really influence you when you're set in your opinion.

But what they've [the Democrats] also switched is going after influencers — the actual celebrities that young people care about. So over the summer you saw Trump talking to Logan Paul or Theo Von or Adin Ross, and now at the DNC, you have Hasan Piker, Knowa De Baraso, these internet celebrities also lending their voices, and there's over 200 of them that got credentialed. So just from a reporter standpoint, that was the really interesting thing for me, where they're actually getting the covert celebrities to push that message.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Stuart Berman.