Carrie Underwood, Village People and More

Top line

Carrie Underwood will perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration next week, and Village People, the group behind one of Trump’s favorite hits, “YMCA,” said they will perform at several pre-events to the inauguration, a change from his 2017 inauguration, which struggled to attract high-profile performers.

Carrie Underwood will perform at Trump’s inauguration. (Photo by Craig T Fruchtman/WireImage)

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Key facts

Country music singer Carrie Underwood will sing “America the Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, shortly before the president-elect is sworn in.

The people of the villagethe group behind “YMCA,” which became a staple of Trump rallies at which the president-elect performed what became known as the “Trump dance,” announced in a Facebook post that it would perform at several inaugural events, including reportedly a “victory rally” planned for Sunday.

Another event Village People will perform at will be the inaugural ball on January 19 hosted by the conservative political organization Turning Point USA, which will feature guests including group founder Charlie Kirk, Vice President-elect JD Vance, Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy and Ben Shapiro.

Axios reported that some country music acts are scheduled to perform, including Jason Aldean And Rascal Flatts at Trump’s inaugural ball on Monday and Rock Child And Billy Ray Cyrus at the “victory rally”.

Opera singer Christophe Macchiowho has performed at several Republican events, including Trump’s controversial rally at Madison Square Garden in 2024, will sing the national anthem at the inauguration, the singer’s management confirmed to multiple media outlets.

Why did these artists accept invitations to perform?

Both Underwood and Village People emphasized the need for unity in their statements regarding their upcoming performances. Underwood said she was “honored to answer this call at a time when we must all come together in a spirit of unity and look to the future.” In a Facebook post, Village People admitted that the performances would not please all of their fans, but the group believes that “music should be performed without regard to politics.” The group acknowledged that its “favorite candidate lost” — founding member Victor Willis previously said he supported Vice President Kamala Harris — but said it hoped its song “YMCA” could “bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign.

What is Trump’s history with “ymca”?

Trump used the Village People’s “YMCA” at rallies throughout his 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, drawing a mixed response from the group. Willis appears to have changed his stance over the years, first demanding that Trump stop using the song in June 2020 after the then-president pledged to use military force to disperse protests following the murder of George Floyd by police. Three months later, a spokesperson for the group said Willis would not “sue him just out of spite” because he is not a “Trump hater.” In May 2023, Village People director and Willis’ wife, Karen Willis, sent a cease-and-desist letter condemning a performance of “YMCA” at Mar-a-Lago by performers dressed as Village People, saying it wrongly implied that the group had approved Atout. In October 2024, Willis said that he had previously opposed Trump’s use of the song, but had changed his mind because the renewed attention “greatly benefited” the song on the charts . At his rallies, Trump often performed the “Trump dance” during the “YMCA”, a simple movement involving swinging both of his fists back and forth to the beat of the music. The dance has been widely imitated by professional athletes to celebrate victories, including by San Francisco 49ers player Nick Bosa, a staunch Trump supporter, and United States men’s soccer team captain Christian Pulisic , who said it was “not a political dance.”

Key context

Trump’s upcoming inauguration is shaping up to be more star-studded than his first inauguration, which struggled to attract high-profile performers. Jackie Evancho, then 16, a finalist on “America’s Got Talent” in 2010, sang the national anthem at Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Evancho later said her team pushed her to perform despite her “bad feeling,” and she criticized Trump’s policies on transgender rights and asked him on social media to meet her and her transgender sister, Juliet Evancho. Rock band 3 Doors Down and singer Toby Keith also performed at pre-inauguration events in 2017. Past inauguration performers have included Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks and Jennifer Lopez at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, as well as Beyoncé and Kelly Clarkson at former President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2013.