Carrie Underwood to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2024

Much has been said about the tide that seems to be changing since Donald Trump’s second election as President of the United States. Last time, despite his apparent populist appeal, celebrities and businesses called him radioactive. In 2016, it was reported that virtually no one (except Kid Rock) wanted to perform at his inauguration. We can therefore consider it a sign of the times that her inauguration in 2024 has made Carrie Underwood a star.

Underwood, who recently returned to American idol to replace outgoing judge Katy Perry, has not yet weighed in on the new position. She also hasn’t really weighed in on politics, refusing to support virtually any candidate or position because “no one wins,” as she put it. The guardian in 2019: «Everyone’s trying to sum it all up and put a bow on it, like it’s black and white. And it’s not like that. That said, she is probably the most high-profile artist appreciated on both sides of the political aisle for signaling even nominal support for Trump. And again, being able to drag someone so notoriously apolitical into an undeniably political arena is another example of how things are different this time around, alongside Google donating a million dollars to the inaugural fund and Mark Zuckerberg ending fact-checking on Facebook.

Underwood is set to perform “America The Beautiful” accompanied by the Armed Forces Choir and Glee Club of the United States Naval Academy shortly before the inauguration ceremony, according to the Associated Press. Country singer Lee Greenwood is expected to perform when Trump is sworn in, and opera singer Christopher Macchio (who performed at the Republican National Convention and Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden) will sing the national anthem at the end of the ceremony. Another change of pace, the outgoing president (Joe Biden) will actually attend the inauguration this year. Trump ignored Biden’s 2021 swearing-in and instead incited his supporters to insurrection.