Six weeks after Carrie Underwood performed “America the Beautiful” at the inauguration ceremony for President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, the country superstar and her new “American Idol” colleagues have broken their silence on all the buzz surrounding her appearance.
After a technical glitch forced Underwood, 41, to sing the song a cappella, she was widely praised for her high-pressure performance. But her impressive rendition didn’t quiet the online debate about her accepting the invitation in the first place.
Underwood has drawn cheers and jeers over agreeing to perform on January 20, 2025. It was a move that surprised many given that she was weeks away from making her on-air debut as a judge on “Idol,” whose stars have largely avoided wading into politics across the show’s 23 seasons. But in her first comments about her decision to appear, Underwood seems unbothered by all the chatter.
Carrie Underwood Says Response to Her Performance is ‘Just the World We Live In’
Many viewed Underwood’s appearance at the inauguration as an endorsement of Trump, for better or worse. Explaining her decision, Underwood said in a statement before her performance, “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.”
After the event, the “Jesus Takes a Wheel” singer never posted or commented about her performance, during which a technical glitch forced her to sing “America the Beautiful” a cappella. “Idol” producers and Underwood’s new castmates — Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and host Ryan Seacrest — also kept quiet.
But on March 6, the Los Angeles Times published interviews with the cast and “Idol” executive producer Megan Michaels Wolflick, conducted as they taped Hollywood Week, about a week after the inauguration ceremony.
Asked about all the online chatter regarding her attendance, Underwood told the LA Times, “No matter what you do, everybody’s gonna have some good stuff to say and some not-so-good stuff to say. It’s just the world we live in, so you get used to it.”
Though comment sections of the show’s social media posts continue to be infiltrated with fans so upset about Underwood’s attendance that they plan to “boycott” the show, Wolflick downplayed a possible impact on viewership by saying, “That was her decision to make in her career. It wasn’t necessarily about us.”
Ryan Seacrest Says ‘American Idol’ Strives to ‘Not Be Political Ever’
ABCSeacrest, who has hosted “Idol” since it first debuted in 2002, told the LA Times, “It’s absolutely a strategy of the show to not be political ever.”
Comparing “Idol” to late night shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Seacrest said, “They pick a side, right? That’s their target, and they decide to go one direction or the other to keep loyal fans. We want everybody.”
Bryan, meanwhile, told the LA Times that one of the things he loves about “Idol” is that it rises above political differences and serves as an example of people from all walks of life finding common ground.
“We all worry about the division in the country, because we’re constantly told that we’re divided,” he said. “But then we see a hundred kids who didn’t know each other before Hollywood Week — you got one kid wearing Wranglers and a cowboy hat and sitting next to him is a kid from the Bronx — and they’re hugging and loving on each other.”
Bryan faced backlash in 2022 when he brought Florida Governor Ron DeSantis onstage during a concert to promote the Florida Disaster Fund, hoping to raise money for those impacted by Hurricane Ian. DeSantis threw campaign hats into the crowd. Days later, Bryan responded to the pushback by sharing a statement in which he acknowledged that he’d “generally stayed out of politics” but felt compelled to respond to all the buzz.
“I typically don’t respond to stuff when I’m getting run down on a social platform but here’s the deal,” he wrote. “I understand Governor DeSantis is a very polarizing figure. But I grew up in a country where if a governor ask you if they can come and raise awareness to help victims of a natural disaster you help.”
The new season of “American Idol” premieres on March 9 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Carrie Underwood & Her ‘American Idol’ Colleagues Break Silence on Inauguration Appearance