Well, that sure was awkward. American Idol winner and country singer Carrie Underwood was supposed to sing “America the Beautiful” with a full choir and backing track at President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, but, well… something happened. For all of those wondering what happened during Carrie Underwood’s inauguration performance, you’re not alone. Let’s talk about it.
When it was first announced that Underwood would be performing “America the Beautiful” for Trump’s second inauguration, it was met with a mixed bag of reactions. Underwood has not been one to blatantly share her political views in the past, and despite her statement about the performance being part of “the spirit of unity and looking to the future,” many people took her willingness to perform as support for Trump. Thus, she faced intense backlash from those who don’t support Trump, and high praise from those who do. But those conflicting feelings were largely overshadowed when it came time for Underwood to actually perform.
According to the program for the inauguration ceremony, Underwood was slated to perform alongside the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club. However, after the announcer gave the cue for Underwood’s performance to start… nothing happened. Those in attendance (and those watching at home) briefly heard the musical backing track for the performance, and then abruptly stop, sending the room into a few long moments of awkward silence. Ultimately, Underwood had a quick conversation with one of the organizers of the ceremony, and then began singing a shortened version of the song a cappella, while encouraging the audience to join her.
Those watching from home definitely had some thoughts on the situation, with some saying the technical difficulty was the “best thing to happen” during the entire ceremony, and others praising Underwood for taking the mess-up in stride and still delivering a solid performance.
The BEST part of the inaugural ceremony was when technical difficulties derailed Carrie Underwood’s performance. pic.twitter.com/dlxLx6PCGT
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) January 20, 2025
pic.twitter.com/OpMD33DheD A technical malfunction kept the music from playing for Carrie Underwood at the inauguration. After a short pause, Carrie took matters into her own hands and started singing solo. The result is absolute chills: What a talent.
— Alice Gounarakis (@Goodwinaim) January 20, 2025
As of Jan. 20, the true cause of the mishap has yet to be determined — like, did a wire come unplugged, or did the person in charge of the music take a little nap? — but regardless, the moment is sure to be a historic part of an already historic day for the United States.