Music

Trump Inauguration Music Performances: From Bad to Awful

From crypto parties with Snoop Dogg to dancing the YMCA, the music performances at President Donald Trump’s inauguration simply sucked

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trump performances carrie underwood billy ray cyrus
From left to right: Screenshot from PBS News/YouTube; Photo from Donald J. Trump/Facebook; Screenshot from WFAA/YouTube

Today, the United States of America swears in convicted felon, sexual offender, and business mogul Donald J. Trump as its 47th president. The inauguration was a field day of alt-right figures,  Z-list celebrities, social media influencers, comedians, tech billionaires, and politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties. 

The political affair wasn’t all speeches and questionable salutes from Trump’s supporters. There was also what seemingly passed for music. And what better way to kick off his second term than by ruining your childhood with musicians you haven’t seen in ages. 

From crypto parties to mega stages right in front of Capitol Hill, it was a big day for musicians willing to be associated with the re-elected president and his early reelection promises — which, to no one’s surprise, included stricter immigration policies and setting back gender inclusivity by 10 years. 

The Trump inauguration, and the majority of its live music performances, was a dumpster fire that’s infinitely worse than seeing an alt-right protester fall over the Capitol steps. 

Here are the performances ranked from questionable to awful:

Carrie Underwood

This specific performance of “America the Beautiful” by the country singer had almost every single American Idol fan weeping on the floor. A technical malfunction occurred from the very start of the performance that would eventually lead Underwood to sing the entirety of the song in acapella. There were technical highs and almost no slips in her vocals, but this was a performance that is equally eerie and questionable. It sets a precedent of what’s to come in the next few years as Trump looms over America and the world. It was like seeing your childhood crush crossing over the dark side. 

Kid Rock

No one can ever top the Divorced Dad Energy of Kid Rock performing at a victory rally two days ago, in front of Trump supporters in their fifties. Hearing Kid Rock sing about “minimum wage” and “inflation” right next to “daddy’s home” is as mild as an alt-right’s hot sauce spice tolerance. You get a culture vulture of hip-hop back in the ‘90s bury a deeper grave for himself as he poses on the podium signalling the arrival of a new golden age of America. But to me, this was Kid Rock at his rock bottom, down to get his paycheck and become another has-been in the genre of butt rock in America. 

Village People

Once the paragons of feel-good wedding reception dancing, the Village People are now frail and could barely keep up with the chanting. The iconic ‘80s dance group performed not once, but twice with the president himself, and they made him do the YMCA dance along with them. It was quite comedic to witness given that a couple of Village People’s costumes symbolizes the administration in an ironic, almost patriotic fashion: a white cowboy, a police man and a stereotyped indigenous folk all dancing in unity in front of a crowd of Trump supporters. You’ll only see that kind of “unity” in entertainment but not in real life. Highly questionable to its core and a massive disappointment for those who want to dance along to your auntie’s Zumba classes every Sunday.

Nelly

“I’ve been catching haters my whole career,” Nelly says in an interview prior to his performance at the Liberty Ball. And yep, you just know a shipwreck was waiting to happen. He spends his time running in circles defending Trump, rather than explaining why he was causing backlash for performing on stage. I guess you could say that Nelly has created his own dilemma.

Snoop Dogg

It was an absolute shocker to see the least likely rapper to appear and even perform at the inauguration. Snoop Dogg came in a suit and tie and attended the pre-inauguration ball, also known as Crypto Ball. Consisting of a crowd full of tech experts and “crypto bros” in attendance, the rapper went on stage to perform and DJ simultaneously, signalling the end of an era for all who enjoy his music. The rapper accordingly shifted his views on the president and went on to become a puppet for the master. This gesture was an absolute betrayal — especially from a rapper who garnered so much support from the African-American community.

Billy Ray Cyrus

Have you ever witnessed a car crash so brutal, you couldn’t help but take your eyes off the screen? That’s what it feels like to watch Billy Ray Cyrus perform at the Liberty Ball this morning. Imagine a drunk uncle stumbling and slurring his way as the teleprompter at your karaoke goes on. Literally the entire music video of “Old Town Road” played as his backing track with the interludes we’re included, creating this awkward transition of Cyrus trying his best to keep up, but helplessly tripping over his words. It’s just a pain to witness and, honestly, you just wish that the performance would play in 2.0 speed when you see Cyrus kill time.

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