Carrie Underwood was the first performer at Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, taking the stage right after his 30-minute speech.

As she stood before former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Underwood delivered a beautiful rendition of “America the Beautiful” without any musical accompaniment due to a technical glitch. With her eyes sparkling and her hand gesturing dramatically, she hit the high notes of the song, captivating everyone in the Capitol Rotunda, many of whom sang along.

Dressed in an elegant sleeveless white dress that contrasted sharply with her typical glamorous style, Underwood’s voice shone as she concluded her performance, shaking hands with Biden, Trump, and new Vice President JD Vance, while Biden praised her, mouthing “great job.”

Her performance was notably different from that of Jennifer Lopez, who performed a blend of “This Land is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful,” added a line of the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish, and even included a part of her hit “Let’s Get Loud” from her 1999 debut, “On the 6.”

Carrie Underwood Expresses “Humility” in Performing at Inauguration

The 41-year-old country superstar, who will return to her roots as a judge on “American Idol” in March, expressed her feelings in a statement about her participation: “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 respond at a time when we need to unite and look towards the future.”

Unsurprisingly, opinions on Underwood’s decision to perform were mixed, reminiscent of the controversy surrounding Garth Brooks’ rendition of “Amazing Grace” at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, which some conservatives criticized for his lack of support for then-candidate Trump.

Brooks, like Underwood, emphasized unity as his reason, stating, “If we’re gonna get anywhere, we’re gonna get there together.”

A significant portion of the disappointment from Underwood’s performance came from the LGBTQ+ community, which had viewed her as an ally, particularly following her 2017 single “Love Wins.” The lyrics touched on the issues of divisive politics, asking pointed questions like “Politics and prejudice/How the hell’d it ever come to this?” and “When everybody’s got to pick a side/It don’t matter if you’re wrong or right,” which were taken as a sign of her support for same-sex marriage.

However, Whoopi Goldberg provided a different viewpoint on “The View” last week, stating that although she wouldn’t be tuning in to watch the ceremony, she respected Underwood’s choice to perform.

“If I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform some place,” Goldberg said, “I believe she has the same right.”