Editor's Note: The live blog for Inauguration Day can be found here. Live coverage begins at 9 a.m. CT in the player above.
Country star Carrie Underwood performed "America the Beautiful" at President Donald Trump's inauguration Monday, but she faced an unexpected obstacle.
As Underwood stood ready to perform, music briefly began to play before abruptly cutting out. After some silence, Underwood turned to the crowd with a message before she began.
âIf you know the words, help me out here,â Underwood said before beginning an a capella rendition of the song.
The audience is heard singing along with the Grammy Award winner and former "American Idol" star.
Social media praised Underwood for her performance despite the technical snafu.
"Carrie Underwood being a pro and just going acapella and killin it," one user wrote on X.
Politics
Underwood had been announced as a performer for Inauguration Day in the days leading up to the historic event.
âI 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,â Underwood said in a statement shortly after the news broke. âI 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.â
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But Underwood has avoided discussing politics across her career, in 2019 telling The Guardian, âI feel like more people try to pin me places politically. I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. Itâs crazy. Everybody tries to sum everything up and put a bow on it, like itâs black and white. And itâs not like that.â
Underwood was one of several performers tapped for inaugural events Monday.
The list included 1970s hitmakers Village People, Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts, Gavin DeGraw and more.
