Country music superstar and “American Idol” alumna Carrie Underwood is set to perform at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C., adding to the ranks of A-list entertainers rejecting the pressures of cancel culture.
The news of Underwood’s performance went viral when a photo of a program for Trump’s inauguration was posted to X. She will be performing “America the Beautiful,” accompanied by the Armed Forces Choir and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club just before Trump takes the presidential oath of office for the second time.
In comparison, news surrounding the musical lineup for Trump’s first inauguration back in 2017 was defined by the singers who were invited to perform at the prestigious event and declined due to the president’s polarizing nature. Artists who were invited and declined to perform at Trump’s inauguration in 2017 included Elton John, the Beach Boys, and Celine Dion.
The online reaction to the Underwood news took on more of a tone of resignation than one of outrage, as if left-leaning social media users sense culture shifting away from aggressive progressivism.
Underwood, 41, is regarded as the most successful “American Idol” alumnus. Since winning season four of the singing reality-TV contest in 2005, Underwood has gone on to release 28 No. 1 singles and become the most awarded female country music artist for singles from the Recording Industry Association of America of all time.
The “Before He Cheats” singer has previously vowed political ambiguity throughout her career.
“I feel like more people try to pin me places politically,” she told The Guardian in 2019. “I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. It’s .”
Last month, two more celebrities went against the grain by embracing traditional values publicly. Singer Gwen Stefani partnered with the Catholic prayer app Hallow to lead an Advent prayer meditation. Singer Lana Del Rey gave a speech praising her MAGA-Republican husband, alligator tour guide Jeremy Dufrene, while admitting to the anxieties the music industry causes for someone with values opposite of that of most of the industry.
“It’s super nerve-wracking to hold on to an innocent perception of how things could go when you’re in an industry where maybe your values and your morals don’t quite match up with what’s going on. Especially when people think you probably don’t have any morals or values,” she said.
As Underwood joins the ranks of Stefani, Del Rey, and other celebrities in subtly rejecting the pressures of cancel culture, one cannot help but wonder whether conservative politics are bleeding into pop culture and influencing it in ways unimaginable under the liberal outgoing Biden administration.
