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Why these artists wanted to perform at Trump's inauguration

Victor Willis (center), the only surviving original member of Village People, performs during the 91st anniversary of the Hollywood Christmas Parade.
Tommaso Boddi
/
Getty Images for Associated Television International
Victor Willis (center), the only surviving original member of Village People, performs during the 91st anniversary of the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Carrie Underwood, Village People and Kid Rock are among the musicians scheduled to appear throughout inaugural events.

Some have said they are doing so out of support for Trump, while others have been less explicit.

"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," Underwood told NPR in statement.

In light of the announcement, Village People founding member Victor Willis wrote on Facebook that Trump's use of the group's 1978 hit "Y.M.C.A." on the campaign trail — which resulted in a viral dance — had widely boosted the song.

"Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost," he wrote.

Willis, who penned the song's lyrics, also addressed the song's enduring legacy as an unofficial gay anthem, writing that it is a "false assumption" that the song carries a queer subtext.

Other scheduled performers, including Billy Ray Cyrus and Jason Aldean, affirmed their support for the Republican candidate in the run-up to the November election, with Aldean saying on Instagram that he and other performers had "taken a lot of heat" from the media and the entertainment industry for vocalizing their support for Trump in recent years.

Read more about who's performing today.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a producer with the Culture Desk and NPR's Book of the Day podcast.
Rachel Treisman
Rachel Treisman (she/her) is a writer and editor for the Morning Edition live blog, which she helped launch in early 2021.