Carrie Underwood.
Photograph: John Nacion/FilmMagic
Carrie Underwood is heading to Donald Trump’s inauguration — and he or she’s forsaking the Louisville Slugger. The nation star is about to carry out “America the Stunning” on the January 20 ceremony, Trump’s group informed Axios, making her one of many largest celebrities to align herself with the Republican president-elect. “I really like our nation and am honored to have been requested to sing on the Inauguration and to be a small a part of this historic occasion,” Underwood stated in an announcement. “I’m humbled to reply the decision at a time after we should all come collectively within the spirit of unity and seeking to the longer term.”
Her look already attracts a stark distinction to Trump’s 2017 inauguration, which was headlined by vocal Republicans like Toby Keith after A-list performers resembling Elton John and Garth Brooks turned down the gig. Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration, alternatively, featured Girl Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, together with Brooks.
The efficiency can also be the primary time Underwood has clarified her help for Trump. In 2019, she bemoaned when folks “attempt to pin me locations politically,” telling The Guardian, “I attempt to keep far out of politics if potential, at the very least in public, as a result of no person wins.” However there have been clues lately. She leaned into COVID skepticism in 2021, quietly standing along with her husband, ex-NHL participant Mike Fisher, who supported Aaron Rodgers’s resolution to not get the COVID vaccine; she additionally favored a video towards masks mandates from conservative influencer Matt Walsh. Whereas persevering with her nation profession, Underwood launched a gospel album as effectively, My Reward, in 2021. Her inauguration efficiency comes simply forward of her return to American Idol, which she’s set to affix as a choose later this 12 months.
This submit has been up to date with an announcement from Underwood.