Carrie Underwood sang his heart out during the president's second inauguration Donald Trump despite technical difficulties.
The 41-year-old country singer performed “America the Beautiful” on Monday (January 20) at a ceremony at the US Capitol in Washington. She was accompanied by the Armed Forces Chorus and the US Naval Academy Glee Club, but she did not. t has no musical accompaniment.
After a couple of notes, there was silence. Underwood waited a few moments for the technical glitch to be fixed before asking if she should just sing a capella. “If you know the words, help me here,” she told the audience.
She sang “America the Beautiful” with the help of the entire inaugural cast. Underwood shook hands with Joe Biden, J.D. Vance and Trump before leaving the stage. She wore a light gray sleeveless cowl neck dress and accessorized with a sparkling diamond bracelet and matching earrings.
Other performances at the inauguration are also included Lee Greenwood “God Bless USA” and opera singer Christopher Macchio playing the national anthem.
A spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee confirmed Underwood's involvement in the ceremony on January 13 after a leaked copy of the program was shared via X.
Underwood spoke then for her decision to participate in the event.
“I love our country and am honored to be invited to sing at the inauguration and be a small part of this historic event,” she said in a statement. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we all need to come together in a spirit of unity and look to the future.”
After Underwood received a bit of backlash for accepting the gig, Whoopi Goldberg defended her during the Tuesday, Jan. 14, episode The viewnoting, “People do what they do for whatever reason.”
“I stand behind her,” Goldberg, 69, continued. “If I believe that I have the right to decide to go and perform in a place, I believe (she has) the same right. I have to support. That doesn't mean I'm particularly interested. I won't watch, but that's just me.
The view cohost Sunny Hostin agreed with Goldberg, saying, “I think art is art and you have the right to perform where you want to perform.”
in a 2019 interview with The GuardianUnderwood opened up about her efforts to keep her political views private, stating that she felt “more people are trying pin me places politically“.
“I'm trying stay far away from politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins,” she told the publication at the time. “It's crazy. Everyone tries to summarize everything and put a circle on it, as if it were black and white. And that's not the case.”
During Trump's 2017 inauguration, the Tabernacle Choir performed “America the Beautiful” on Temple Square, while Jackie Evancho sang the national anthem. Before his first inauguration, Trump also held a concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring Greenwood, Toby Keith and 3 doors down.
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