Country singer Carrie Underwood has been selected to perform at President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next week. Underwood will sing "America the Beautiful" alongside the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, as outlined in the inaugural program obtained by Entertainment Weekly.
In a statement to EW, Underwood expressed her honor and humility, saying, “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.”
Her performance will take place after Vice President-elect JD Vance's oath of office and just before Trump's own swearing-in ceremony. Opera singer Christopher Macchio is also slated to perform.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on January 20 at the U.S. Capitol, the location of the deadly 2021 attack that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Joe Biden won.
Carrie Underwood, who rose to fame in 2005 as the winner of American Idol, has faced backlash on social media since the announcement of her participation in the inauguration. Critics have flooded her comments section with disappointment.
Known for keeping her political views private, Underwood has said in the past that she prefers to stay out of political debates. In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, she explained, “I feel like more people try to pin me places politically. I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. It’s crazy. Everybody tries to sum everything up and put a bow on it, like it’s black and white. And it’s not like that.”
At Trump's first inauguration in 2017, artists such as Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down, and Lee Greenwood performed.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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