Carrie Underwood marked the new regime of Donald J. Trump as the first performer following his 30-minute inaugural address.
Standing in front of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Underwood sang “America the Beautiful” a capella following a technical issue with her background music, her eyes sparkling and her left hand gesturing as she reached for the big notes of the song.
Underwood, in a sleeveless, draped and understated white dress in contrast to her usual glam and sparkly looks, sounded flawless on the song, as many gathered in the Capitol Rotunda sang along.
Biden mouthed “great job” as Underwood shook his hand at the end of her song before also shaking hands with Trump and new vice president JD Vance.
Underwood’s performance contrasted that of Jennifer Lopez, who performed “This Land is Your Land” mixed with “America the Beautiful” before speaking a line of the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish and belting out a part of her own hit “Let’s Get Loud” from her 1999 debut album “On the 6.”
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Carrie Underwood said she is “humbled” to sing at inauguration
The country megastar, 41, who will return to her “American Idol” roots as a judge in March, said in a statement announcing her participation that, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event. I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Unsurprisingly, reaction was divided at Underwood’s acceptance to perform at the ceremony, much as the same as when Garth Brooks sang “Amazing Grace” at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and was criticized by some conservatives for not supporting then-candidate Trump.
Brooks also touted unity as his motivation, saying, “If we’re gonna get anywhere, we’re gonna get there together.”
Some of the most vocal disappointment directed at Underwood came from the LGBTQ+ community, which had long considered the singer an ally, especially after the release of her 2017 song, “Love Wins.” The lyrics criticize divisive politics with rhetorical questions such as “Politics and prejudice/How the hell’d it ever come to this?” and “When everybody’s got to pick a side/It don’t matter if you’re wrong or right” and the song was considered an indicator of Underwood’s support of same sex marriage.
But Whoopi Goldberg offered another perspective on “The View” last week, telling her fellow panelists that while she won’t be watching the ceremony, she supported Underwood’s decision.
“If I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform some place,” Goldberg said, “I believe she has the same right.”
