Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Donald Trump’s inauguration is scheduled for Monday, January 20.
Carrie Underwood will perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, January 20, as he is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. A spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee confirmed the news on January 13.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Underwood expressed her excitement, 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.”
Carrie Underwood has long kept her political views private. In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, she explained that she feels many people try to categorize her politically, saying, “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.”
Some fans speculated that her 2018 song “The Bullet” carried a political message, especially given its poignant lyrics: “You can blame it on hate or blame it on guns / But mamas ain’t supposed to bury their sons,” she sings. “Left a hole in her heart and it still ain’t done / The bullet keeps on goin’.”
Carrie Underwood shared her thoughts with The Guardian about the reaction to her 2018 song “The Bullet,” saying, “Immediately people said, ‘Oh you have a song about gun control!’ It was more about the lives that were changed by something terrible happening. And it does kind of bug me when people take a song, or take something I said, and try to pigeonhole or force me to pick a side or something. It’s a discussion — a long discussion.”
Trump’s 2017 inauguration featured performances by various artists, including Jackie Evancho from America’s Got Talent, the Radio City Rockettes, The Missouri State University Chorale, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Lee Greenwood, Three Doors Down, Toby Keith, and The Piano Guys also performed at the pre-inauguration concert.
Carrie Underwood’s participation in the 2021 inauguration comes more than seven years after she and fellow country star Brad Paisley humorously poked fun at Trump while hosting the 2017 Country Music Association Awards. During the show, they performed a parody of Underwood’s hit song “Before He Cheats,” changing the famous chorus to “before he tweets.”
“And it’s fun to watch, yeah, that’s for sure / ’Til little Rocket Man starts a nuclear war,” they sang on stage. “Maybe next time, he’ll think before he tweets.”