Singer-songwriter James Taylor was set to serenade the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, but his performance was inexplicably cut from the lineup. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, DNC officials explained the oversight. “Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people,” they wrote in part. Taylor was scheduled to appear between first lady Jill Biden’s speech and Ashley Biden’s introduction for the main event, Joe Biden’s address to the crowd. According to an X video of the seven-time Grammy winner rehearsing, he planned to perform his hit “You’ve Got a Friend.” Taylor has yet to comment on the shelved performance. It appears that the president is a Taylor fan. As PBS reports, he has performed at both a fundraiser and a White House event for the Biden administration.
