Carrie Underwood Improvises Bipartisan Inauguration Singalong After Awkward Mishap

She was supposed to be Donald Trump’s opening act. Then she got bumped. Then she got screwed by some tech engineer. And then? Carrie Underwood provided one of the most profound moments of Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

After an awkward, long pause—a very long pause—to the start of the music delayed the Grammy winner’s performance of “America the Beautiful,” Underwood was forced to improvise. Seconds of forced smiles, confused looking around, and a palpable “WTF…” face gave way to Underwood gamely saying to the crowd at the Capitol Rotunda, “You know the words. Help me out here.”

She then launched an a capella version of “America the Beautiful,” with, in quite stirring fashion, everyone gathered joining in an impromptu singalong. Behind her, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton could all be seen singing—or at least mouthing the words. And the volume of everyone crooning in the Capitol hints that, at the very least, most attendees joined in, as Underwood prompted.

Underwood’s booking had initially been a divisive choice: a faction of (supposedly liberal) fans were upset that she’d support Trump by participating in the inauguration.

The performance, though, turned out to be a quite beautiful moment of unity.

It may have been unintended—and perhaps even forced. But there was no denying that the performance turned out to be more of a capital-M Moment than anyone—certainly Underwood—bargained for.

Underwood’s original slot advertised on the official inauguration program, sandwiched between Vance and Trump’s swearings-in, was moved when proceedings ran behind schedule—presumably to ensure Trump was raising his right hand by noon, as intended.

She marched out with grand confidence. She smiled at several of the dignitaries around her. A blast of music began, and then quickly ended—like a cannon blast into a wall that was just feet in front of it.

Underwood appeared poised, but startled. Whispers began to echo through the rotunda as the awkward silence drew on longer and longer. Did someone trip over an electrical cord? Did they press the wrong button? One would hate to be that tech engineer right now—let alone anyone in Underwood’s green room when she returned there after the ceremony ended.

It’s unclear at this point, but it appeared that her decision to just do the performance a cappella was her own. There’s a video of her mouthing the words to some producer, “I can just sing it.”

Without a doubt, it’s an admirable and brave one. She could have stood there while everyone twiddled their thumbs for who knows how long. Her rally to turn the performance into a singalong broke the tension of the moment with some appealing, amusing levity. The “c’mon, y’all!” spirit of it all carried some by-hell-or-high-water strains of patriotism.

Credit, too, to the dignitaries on the stage behind her for gamely following her lead. Did the likes of Biden, Harris, or Clinton think that, seconds after weathering Trump’s inauguration address—which, no doubt, they’d have feelings about—they’d be forced to belt out to a rapt audience like they were performing at a middle-school chorus concert? Likely not. But they did.

And again, who knows what original plans for the performance were, but kudos to Underwood for having the grace to wrap the kumbaya crooning after one verse and chorus. You know a whole dais of politicians were about to be exposed for not knowing any more words to that song if Underwood had moved on to Verse 2.

The former American Idol winner’s initial booking as an inauguration performer was undeniably controversial. Less so than with his first inauguration, but any performer who agreed to perform at the Trump-celebrating facilities subjected themselves to backlash from a vocal contingent of fans angry at the presumed endorsement of his politics.

That was especially true of Underwood this go-round. The singer had been considered somewhat of a LGBT icon, as this MSNBC opinion piece expands on, leading to a sense of betrayal. Social media was flooded with posts from angry fans.

But there was also staunch defense of Underwood, including from fellow country singers and The View host Whoopi Goldberg. The debate isn’t just the usual partisan navel-gazing, which typically is inconsequential. Underwood is the highest-profile singer to be booked for either of Trump’s inaugurations. Her decision, and the response to it, does matter.

Lo and behold, in ways that couldn’t have predicted, the performance elicited this bumbling, yet still quite beautiful display of unity. Many of the politicians on that stage behind her are now out of jobs; maybe there’s chorus work in their futures.