Jay-Z joined President Barack Obama at a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday and offered a lyrical twist on his hip-hop hit, "99 Problems."

The rapper subbed "Mitt" for "a b--ch" in the song, singing, "I got 99 problems but Mitt ain't one" in a nod to Obama's Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. 

"I didn't get that vetted, so let's do this real fast before they come up here and snatch me off this stage," Jay-Z says to the cheering crowd.

Bruce Springsteen also rallied with Obama a day ahead of Tuesday's election. The rocker performed in Madison, Wisc.

Romney was on a four-state tour through Florida, Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire.

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Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sings "America the Beautiful" with Meat Loaf.

It's official! Meat Loaf has thrown his support behind Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a big way. And lest anyone think the rocker isn't passionate about his endorsement, his performance at a Thursday rally in Defiance, Ohio, sure proves otherwise.

The singer joined country music stars Randy Owens, John Rich (who knows Meat Loaf well from their "The Celebrity Apprentice" days) and Big Kenny, as well as the presidential hopeful, for a particularly rousing rendition of "America the Beautiful."

The performance started off pretty standard, with Owens and Rich serenading the crowd in the traditional, if a bit staid, patriotic style. But soon Meat Loaf, who's not exactly known for holding back, decided to show his fellow singers and Romney, how it's done.

Channeling his trademark "Bat Out of Hell" enthusiasm (though most definitely not his "Bat Out of Hell" vocal stylings), Meat Loaf shouted out "Aaah! Go ahead now brother!" to Owens, before going ahead himself.

That's when the Grammy-winner's heartfelt wails began and continued straight through to the end of the number, despite looks of surprise, amusement and possibly concern from those who shared the spotlight with him.

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PARMA, Ohio -- Two rock stars -- one a former Democratic president, the other a multi-platinum musician -- made an appeal for President Barack Obama to voters in battleground territory in northeast Ohio on Thursday.

Former President Bill Clinton joined forces with Bruce Springsteen for a high-profile appearance on Obama's behalf in the Cleveland area, a key region in a key battleground state that could make-or-break the president's bid for a second term.

"I've had, I don't know, 20-something jobs before I got elected president. But this is the first time in my life I ever got to be the warm-up act for Bruce Springsteen. I am qualified because I was born in the USA; and unlike one of the candidates for president, I keep all of my money here," Clinton told told the more than 3,000 packed into the gym at Cuyahoga Community College.

An additional 700 crammed into over-flow rooms.

The rally was Springsteen's first stop on the campaign trail this year, but just the latest for Clinton, who's emerged as one of Obama's top advocates, first at September's Democratic National Convention and later at campaign stops throughout the country. Clinton has been to Florida, New Hampshire and Nevada, and will travel tomorrow to Wisconsin.

Springsteen was set to travel to Iowa for a solo rally later in the afternoon.

Both Clinton and Springsteen played up Ohio's Midwestern tradition and the auto industry rescue initiated by Obama in 2009 in their speeches, mindful of the jobs preserved by the bailout of GM and Chrysler. ("I'm thankful GM is still making cars," Springsteen joked. "What else would I write about? I'd have no job!")

During his warm up act, which exceeded 30 minutes, Clinton blasted Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for a lack of transparency, telling supporters they did not put up with the "hide and seek stuff" of the GOP candidate.  His budget, tax returns and details about his economic plan are things the former president said the Republican has been hiding.

"I love Ohio, it's an old school place," Clinton said. "We like our families, we like our communities, we value personal loyalty. When you were down, you were out and when your whole economy was threatened, the president had your back. You gotta have his back now."

At one point, in making the case against Romney, Clinton acknowledged that the economy was "not fixed," a comment on which the Republican nominee's campaign quickly pounced.

"We agree with former President Bill Clinton. The economy has not been fixed under President Barack Obama," said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. "Today, more than 23 million Americans are struggling for work, poverty has increased and food stamps are at record levels. Mitt Romney believes we can do better by creating 12 million new jobs with higher take-home pay, cutting spending to put our nation on course for a balanced budget, and actually fixing our economy."

For his part, Springsteen has a well-established track record of supporting Democrats, and he posted a letter on his website Wednesday evening formally backing Obama.

"This presidential election is different than the last one because President Obama has a four year record to run on. Last time around, he carried with him a tremendous amount of hope and expectations" he wrote. "Unfortunately, due to the economic chaos the previous administration left him with, and the extraordinary intensity of the opposition, it turned into a really rough ride. But through grit, determination, and focus, the President has been able to do a great many things that many of us deeply support."

In front of the crowd today, Springsteen said, "The future is rarely a tide rushing in. It's a long march, day by day. And Obama feels that in his bones for all 100 percent of us."

In a short acoustic set, Springsteen played some of his more recognizeable hits -- including his steel town dirge, "Youngstown," for the city just a short distance from Thursday's rally -- along with a jokingly-composed campaign song The Boss said he wrote at the president's request.

"Let's vote for the man who got Osama," went one line. Continuing about the second debate: "Smilin' Joe really brought the drama."

A new Obama ad that has ruffled feathers by mockingly portraying Big Bird as a corporate villain will stay on the air, a senior Obama campaign adviser said Wednesday.

“I don’t know of any plans to change that ad,” Robert Gibbs told TODAY’s Matt Lauer.

The ad sarcastically compares the beloved Sesame Street character, the breakout star in last week's presidential debate, to major white-collar criminals and “gluttons of greed” Bernie Madoff, Kenneth Lay and others.

But the organization behind Sesame Street asked the Obama campaign to take down the ad.

"Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns," the organization said in a statement. "We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."

Gibbs said the ad points out differences between Obama and Republican nominee.  

“Mitt Romney took to the debate and said I’m going to get tough by ending Downton Abbey and going to war with Sesame Street when he’s going to let Wall Street off the hook and not hold them accountable as we go forward in financial reform,” he said. “Look, we can’t have a president that does that. That’s certainly a part of a very real issue.”

On Tuesday, Arizona Sen. John McCain told TODAY that the Big Bird ad illustrated a lack of ideas by the Obama campaign.

“It may show paucity of ideas in ways to criticize Mitt Romney,” said the former Republican presidential candidate.

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David Letterman has no beef with Mitt Romney -- but that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy making fun of the guy.

The CBS host on Wednesday addressed comments that Romney made during a fundraiser in May about the politics of late night television; Romney said that he thought Letterman was angry at him for appearing more often on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show," but that's simply not the case.

Photos from THR: 20 biggest political players in Hollywood 

"I certainly don't hate Mitt because he's been on Leno's show more," Letterman said. "I mean, why hate a guy who's suffered through that?"

In fact, he even extended an olive branch.

"I don't hate Mitt, and I think now more than ever, him and his lovely wife, Mrs. Mitt, are more than welcome to come to the show," he said, "and I'm telling you, if you think you're going to get to the White House, you've got to spend time in this chair. We'll get him in here and see how it goes."

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Unfortunately for Letterman, Romney hasn't responded in kind; his wife, Ann Romney, will appear on the "Tonight Show" next Tuesday.

Perhaps it was because Letterman characterized Romney's speech in that fundraiser tape as the former Massachusetts governor saying that "he found poor people irritating."

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Mitt Romney -- er, Jimmy Fallon -- attempts to explain the Republican presidential hopeful's recent "47 percent" remark on Tuesday's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."

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Romney on Monday found himself at the center of controversy after Mother Jones published a series of secret videos in which he is seen speaking candidly about a variety of hot button topics.

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The videos were taken at an intimate fundraiser earlier this year, in which Romney was not aware he was being recorded, and spoke freely about his opinions.

Among the sound bites drawing the most attention from voters: “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.”

On his late-night show, Fallon impersonates Romney and addresses the comments, which he describes as "something to the effect of me not caring about 47 percent of the country because they're all basically freeloaders sucking off the teat of the rich."

STORY: Seven ways a Mitt Romney win would change Hollywood

"Now I know what you're thinking, let's leave Kate Middleton out of this," he quips, referring to the Duchess of Cambridge, who is embroiled in a topless-photo scandal. "I admit what I said was not elegantly stated. Perhaps I made a bit of a 'Honey Boo Boo.'"

He also takes jabs at Amanda Bynes and "American Idol's" new four-person judging panel.

"Late Night" airs on NBC at 12:35 a.m. weeknights.

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Alex Fine / The Hollywood Reporter

If Mitt Romney is elected president, he'll take office with fewer personal ties to Hollywood than any chief executive since Dwight D. Eisenhower. But because the entertainment industry since has become an international economic powerhouse and the producer of America's premier cultural export, it's inevitable that Romney would, in some sense, have to "go Hollywood."

The legion of entertainment conglomerate lobbyists who would come knocking at his doors would be guaranteed to get the new president's attention. Whether they would get what they want remains an open question -- Romney has sent Hollywood mostly negative signals so far. ​

Photos from THR: 20 biggest political players in Hollywood

Here are likely outcomes on key issues:

Piracy
Some sort of action on enhanced measures to stem the web-based piracy that is bleeding the entertainment industry remains Hollywood's top legislative priority. The problem for the entertainment industry is that Romney's personal and fund-raising links to Silicon Valley and digital commerce are deep and long-standing, extending to his days as a private-equity investor and governor of Massachusetts.

After sitting out the initial debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), he finally rejected it, blasting the bill during the South Carolina Republican primary. "The law as written is far too intrusive, far too expansive," he said. "It would have a depressing impact on one of the fastest-growing industries [digital commerce]. … I'm standing for freedom."

The platform adopted at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., last month didn't go much beyond that when it came to piracy. MPAA chairman Chris Dodd strikes a diplomatic tone toward the GOP blueprint, saying it "emphasizes the importance of us doing more as a nation to protect our intellectual property from online theft while underscoring the critical importance of protecting web freedom." 

Result: Given Romney's declared predilection on this one, good luck with that.

More from THR: Romney: 'I was laughing at Clint Eastwood' RNC speech

Morality
How the government regulates content is another issue about which Hollywood has reason to be wary. During the GOP convention, the conservative organization Morality in Media trumpeted its success in winning platform language insisting that "laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity need to be vigorously enforced." CEO Patrick Trueman tells THR his organization hopes to see regulators reach beyond the networks to cable providers. "Your major cable and satellite TV companies all have PPV porn channels," he says. "These companies -- Verizon, Comcast, etc. -- are therefore subject to federal obscenity laws."

Although courts have taken a dim view of extending any such regulations beyond the nets to the cable and satellite providers, there's little doubt that the sort of conservative members Romney likely would appoint to the FCC could make life rougher for the Big Four.

Result: Envision a bunch of guys with Trueman's views endlessly scrutinizing ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox for wardrobe malfunctions.

The FCC
On the other hand, according to a veteran entertainment industry insider, "It's most likely that a Romney administration would be much more hands-off when it comes to economically regulating broadcasting and the web." The Republicans, after all, want smaller government, which means less regulation by the FCC and other agencies. The party's platform, in fact, calls for an overhaul of telecommunications laws, which it characterizes as outmoded and a barrier to competition -- a big deal for the major Hollywood conglomerates as they attempt to expand.

Result: Restrictions on cross ownership in major urban markets might be the first regulations to fall under a Romney administration.

Gay marriage
Same-sex marriage has become a consensus cause in Hollywood, and a socially conservative Justice Department, which Romney's comments suggest he would install, could move to block it. While most of the cases involving marriage equality appear likely to reach the Supreme Court before a new president would have a chance to appoint a justice, any Romney appointee will increase the court's conservative bloc.

Result: Hollywood won't find common ground.

The arts
When it comes to PBS, NPR and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, Hollywood would find its priorities and Romney's opposed. Although the industry's financial stake is slight, it matters to the creative community partly for idealistic reasons and partly because it's where the entertainment industry often outsources its aesthetic conscience.

Result: Romney has said he wants to zero out all support.

More from THR: Invisible Obama: The backlash for Mitt Romney and Clint Eastwood

Taxes
If Romney heeded vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's urgings to overhaul the tax code, Hollywood's lobbyists would be right there in line with every other big business fighting to preserve and extend every exemption and write-off the entertainment industry now enjoys.

Result: Because the congloms represent big business and will speak Romney's language, expect a sympathetic ear.

Trade
Romney understands the importance of trade and that Hollywood is a major generator of the export revenue.

Result: Romney would take an aggressive posture on counterfeiting in the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership talks with America's Asian partners.

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Paul Buck / EPA

Nicki Minaj.

President Obama managed to get the truth out of Nicki Minaj in regards to who she's supporting come election time in November.

Despite rapping on a new Lil Wayne mixtape that she was a "Repulican voting for Mitt Romney," the rapper-singer set the record straight on Twitter Monday: "Ha! Thank you for understanding my creative humor & sarcasm Mr. President, the smart ones always do ... *sends love & support.*"

Obama had earlier expressed skepticism about the Romney endorsement during a radio interview with Orlando's Power 95.3, according to a New York Daily News story. "I'm not sure that's actually what happened," Obama said about Minaj backing his GOP rival. "I think she had a song on there, a little rap that said that, but she likes to play different characters."

"Awesome!" Minaj tweeted. "Now I can tell my grandchildren that the 1st black President of the United States took the time to address a Nicki Minaj question."

Retweets by the singer confirmed her delight in having the president understand that she frequently uses alter egos.

But, as the Daily News points out, not everyone on Twitter was impressed with Obama dropping hip-hop knowledge. "What Obama spoke on the record about today: Nicki Minaj lyrics. What he refused to comment on: the Chicago teacher strike," wrote Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus.

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Charles Dharapak / AP

Clint Eastwood addresses the RNC ... and a chair ... in Tampa, Fla. on Aug. 30.

By Scott Stump, TODAY contributor

As far as Clint Eastwood is concerned, when it comes to his headline-making speech involving an empty chair at the Republican National Convention last week, it made his day.

 “I may have irritated a lot of lefties, but I was aiming for people in the middle,’’ Eastwood told The Carmel (Calif.) Pine Cone, his hometown paper. “I had three points I wanted to make. That not everybody in Hollywood is on the left, that Obama has broken a lot of promises he made when he took office, and that the people should feel free to get rid of any politician who’s not doing a good job. But I didn’t make up my mind exactly what I was going to say until I said it.”  

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While the 82-year-old actor admitted his unscripted, 12-minute speech on Aug. 30 was “very unorthodox,” he felt his message got across to the audience he was trying to reach despite the fact that he rambled and hesitated at points during it.

“President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,’’ he said. “Romney and Ryan would do a much better job running the country, and that’s what everybody needs to know.’’

The speech, which included addressing an empty chair representing President Obama, was panned by liberal reporters and critics as a messy ramble that made Eastwood seem unhinged. However, thousands of supporters came to Eastwood’s defense on social media. Eastwood admitted that he hates using a teleprompter and that using the empty chair as a prop did not come to him until about 20 minutes before he delivered his speech. He was in the green room waiting to go on stage when he got the idea.

Clint Eastwood's empty chair at RNC sparks Internet buzz

“There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down," he said. "When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I'll just put the stool out there and I'll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn't keep all of the promises he made to everybody."

Mitt Romney’s campaign aides attempted to get a feel beforehand for what Eastwood was going to say in his speech, but he said that was essentially an impossible task. Eastwood said that Romney and Ryan were “very enthusiastic” and “laughing’’ when they greeted him following the speech.

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“They vet most of the people, but I told them, ‘You can’t do that with me because I don’t know what I’m going to say,’’’ Eastwood said. “It was supposed to be a contrast with all of the scripted speeches, because I’m Joe Citizen. I’m a movie maker, but I have the same feelings as the average guy out there.’’

Eastwood only came up with the framework for his speech a few hours before he delivered it. A former mayor of Carmel, he admitted to not having much experience delivering speeches in front of large audiences.

“They've got this crazy actor who's 82 years old up there in a suit," he said. "I was a mayor, and they're probably thinking I know how to give a speech, but even when I was mayor I never gave speeches. I gave talks."

Scott Stump once watched all five Dirty Harry movies in a row while procrastinating with a term paper due in college.

Actor and director Clint Eastwood has been confirmed as a surprise guest Thursday night at the Republican National Convention.

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Director/actor Clint Eastwood accepts the award for Distinguished Collaborator onstage during the 14th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards With Presenting Sponsor Lacoste held at The Beverly Hilton hotel on February 21, 2012 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Eastwood recently thrust his support behind GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who will receive his official nomination at the convention tonight.

Earlier this year, a Chrysler ad narrated by Eastwood that aired during the Super Bowl appeared to endorse President Barack Obama, prompting the actor to respond that he was not backing either candidate. He then went on to voice his support for Romney earlier this month at a fundraiser in Idaho. 

Eastwood will address the convention Thursday night in Tampa, Fla., before Romney accepts his nomination. Romney will be introduced by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and Sue Kroll contributed to this story.

AFP - Getty Images file

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, left, and President Barack Obama.

The Democratic and Republican conventions of 2008 had guest lists that read like any legitimate Hollywood party. Ben Affleck, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, Susan Sarandon and literally dozens of other celebrities had a massive presence at political events and on the streets of Denver and St. Paul. 

Four years later, the tip sheets for the conventions’ big events in Tampa and Charlotte, N.C., are decidedly less glamorous. Is this a sign that celebs have fallen out of love with politics? Is hope so 2008? While there will still be some Hollywood presence, the majority of A-listers will be of the political variety at these upcoming conventions, and according to some experts, that’s to be expected.

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“It was unlikely to happen again. (2008) was a really unique confluence of events,” former democratic strategist Matthew Hiltzik told NBC News of the 2008 conventions. “You had the entertainment world, which typically does skew democratic, and the opportunity to have a Democrat in the White House for the first time in eight years combined with historic nature of Barack Obama’s candidacy. It lead to overwhelming enthusiasm. I think this year it’s a lot more focused on the issues.”

That is definitely the case with the One campaign, Bono’s anti-poverty organization. In 2008, One was behind the DNC’s toughest party ticket: a Kanye West performance attended by Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Ashley Judd. This year, One is hosting panel discussions.

“No big parties this time, instead we’re focusing on policy-heavy panel discussions,” One spokesperson Ari Goldberg said. “It’s not that celebs weren’t interested. It’s definitely a decision that was made on our end to be more policy heavy. It’s a time of fiscal responsibility, too.”

Hiltzik agrees that there’s added focus on the cost associated with such events. Headliners don’t perform out of the kindness of their own hearts, after all. At a minimum, it’s standard to cover travel expenses and accommodations for most celebrities, and some also command appearance fees. “Four years later with many Americans facing challenging economic times, it would seem that the celebratory celebrity tone would be off message,” said Hiltzik.

Even though One has swapped Kanye in Denver for talks in Tampa it doesn’t mean there won’t be some fun. The Recording Industry Association of America (which was also part of the One/Kanye event in Denver) is teaming up with charity Musicians on Call for a Gavin DeGraw fundraiser concert in Tampa and one featuring Common in Charlotte, N.C.

“For us, it’s a bit of the same as 2008,” said RIAA’s Cara Duckworth. “We celebrate music so we always get a good level of interest. And we’re seeing that leading up to both events. We’re happy to accommodate.”

Rock the Vote says its presence will be quite similar to that of 2008.

“We’re doing a concert at each of the conventions, which is what we did last (time),” spokesperson Chrissy Faessen said. “For Rock the Vote, it’s core to our history. Musicians and artists have always been a part of how we deliver our message to young people. They’re great messengers for getting young people out there to vote.”

Regardless of the economy, “people still love the music,” said Hiltzik. “Some people are going to come out for the access to that concert, to the performance. The primary celebrity is most helpful when it’s musical talent performing at fundraisers. Those events have a much bigger draw than one where Joe Schmo celebrity shows up.”

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Bill Pugliano / Getty Images

Mitt Romney at a victory rally at the Long Family Orchard Farm and Cider Mill on Aug. 24 in Michigan.

In a new interview with Parade, Mitt Romney and his wife Ann offered some insight into their musical tastes and a wishlist of acts they'd like to see perform at the White House, should the Republican presidential nominee win the election in November.

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The list includes the Beach Boys – "Even though I know it's not the same group it used to be," Romney noted – and country stars like Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith. Romney also name-checked bands like Aerosmith and Alabama, while his wife – who revealed a preference for jazz, pop, rock, and classical music – noted that the Romneys have a friend in the Eagles. (Former lead guitarist Don Felder is slated to play the Republican National Convention next week.) 

The most unexpected band on Romney's list of favorites? "The Killers are one group I enjoy," he said. The band's lead singer, Brandon Flowers, is Mormon.

Romney conceded that not all of his favorite acts might perform for a Republican-led White House. "These are not all Republicans, by the way. Some may turn us down."

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"No, they would die to be mentioned," countered his wife. 

While Romney and President Barack Obama are in the midst of a fiercely contested campaign, Romney did praise the Obamas for "welcoming various artists and having people come enjoy the White House." Romney also said that he'd like his White House "to be open and have people feel welcome there. I don't just mean touring it, but also come to the East Room and see a performance of some kind."

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