The business sense behind Carrie Underwood’s MAGA makeover,
Carrie Underwood Trump Inauguration
Underwood’s LGBTQ+ fans once embraced her single “Love Wins” as a powerful anthem of affirmation. How times have changed.
The announcement that Carrie Underwood would perform “America the Beautiful” at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration surprised many of her fans, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, who had viewed her as a rare ally in the often conservative world of country music. “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 stated.
While it’s true that country music has not always been welcoming to queer fans, Underwood’s previous support for the community made her decision to back Trump, whose administration has been known for its anti-LGBTQ+ stance, particularly disheartening. How can she expect her queer fans to unite with individuals who have openly called for their marginalization?
Understanding the country star’s shift from being an LGBTQ+ advocate to a MAGA supporter becomes clearer when you view Carrie Underwood not just as a person, but as a brand. Examining her public support for LGBTQ+ rights alongside her acceptance of Trump reveals that both positions are influenced by the practical need for commercial success in the country music industry.
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Underwood began her career in 2005, just two years after the Chicks faced backlash in 2003, likely feeling the need to keep her political opinions private to avoid a similar outcome. Therefore, the LGBTQ+ community took notice when she advocated for gay marriage in a 2012 interview with The Independent, stating, “As a married person myself, I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love, and want to marry. I can’t imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.”
While she faced some criticism from fellow evangelical Christians for her remarks, Underwood had the backing of public opinion at that time. Support for gay marriage in the U.S. was increasing in 2012, leading up to its legalization by the Supreme Court in 2015. Even within the country music scene, Kacey Musgraves’ song “Follow Your Arrow,” which celebrated LGBTQ+ fans, won song of the year at the 2014 CMA Awards, despite being largely ignored by country radio. It reached No. 43 on the country airplay chart, and Musgraves became one of the few women in country music to cultivate an audience without radio support.
In 2018, Underwood transitioned from her longtime label Sony Music Nashville to Musgraves’ Universal Music Group. That year, she appeared to strengthen her support for the LGBTQ+ community by releasing the single “Love Wins.” Although the song doesn’t directly advocate for LGBTQ+ acceptance and Underwood hasn’t explicitly linked it to that cause in interviews, the lyrics convey a broader message of love and acceptance amidst “politics and prejudice,” incorporating the slogan of the marriage equality movement as its title.
Underwood’s LGBTQ+ fans embraced “Love Wins” as a powerful anthem, but country radio didn’t share the enthusiasm. After an impressive run of 27 consecutive top-10 singles, “Love Wins” broke Underwood’s streak, landing at No. 11.
In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Underwood stated that her music was not intended to convey any political messages, saying, “I 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.”
By 2021, the pretense of avoiding political discussions in country music had vanished. The January 6 attack on the Capitol marked a turning point for country star Jason Aldean, whose wife, Brittany, became a right-wing influencer, publicly supporting the insurrectionists as they stormed the Capitol.
A few months later, Underwood collaborated with Aldean on the duet “If I Didn’t Love You,” which marked her first No. 1 on the country airplay chart in five years. It seems that the song’s radio success and the industry accolades Underwood received outweighed any concerns she might have had about the political implications of working with the Aldeans.
In May 2021, Underwood’s husband, former professional hockey player Mike Fisher, was a guest on Candace Owens’ talk show, who was a correspondent for the Daily Wire at the time. Later that August, Underwood showed her support by liking a video from Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh, who had recently moved to Nashville, where the outlet has been based since 2020, that opposed school mask mandates. As the Covid debate faded, far-right influencers like Walsh found a new target for their outrage — doctors providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. While Underwood chose to remain silent on this issue, the Aldeans took a different approach, promoting clothing with anti-LGBTQ+ messages and accepting invitations to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2022 and 2023 with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Carrie Underwood Trump Inauguration. Carrie Underwood Trump Inauguration
On the music front, Aldean channeled all that MAGA sentiment into the biggest hit of his career with 2023’s “Try That in a Small Town,” which presents an exaggerated view of the urban-rural divide, featuring a video that references the civil unrest from the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
After Country Music Television removed the video from rotation, the resulting controversy solidified Aldean’s image as a marginalized warrior among MAGA supporters, leading the song to become his first to reach the top of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart. His achievement clearly reflected the direction in which the industry was moving.
Following that success, Aldean highlights newer country artists Parker McCollum and Cody Johnson as MAGA supporters who are “like-minded individuals now that aren’t afraid to speak out about it.”
Despite her recent struggles in country radio, Underwood is easily the most high-profile artist ever booked to perform at a Trump political event.
McCollum and Aldean are both set to perform at inaugural balls for Trump, while Johnson has been vocal about division and politics during his concerts. In one clip, Johnson elaborates on his vision of unity under Trump, which notably leaves no space for discussions about gender. However, Republicans have already introduced over 100 anti-trans bills in state legislatures this year. Recently, the House passed legislation that would prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at schools and institutions that receive federal funding. If Johnson believes this issue is resolved, he must be satisfied to see these bills moving forward.
Underwood’s latest single on country radio is a duet with Johnson, called “I’m Gonna Love You.” It is on track to break into the top 10 on the airplay chart soon, providing Underwood with a much-needed lift from a conservative male artist after her previous two solo singles peaked at No. 20 and No. 18.
Despite facing challenges in country radio recently, Underwood remains the most prominent artist ever to perform at a Trump political event. This is a significant victory for the right. As an eight-time Grammy winner, she has the backing of the creative community. Serving as the face of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” for the 12th season this year, she represents the NFL; her concert film from her long-running Las Vegas residency, “Reflection,” is set to premiere on Hulu on Jan. 24; and she is also returning as a judge on “American Idol,” the show that launched her career, in March.
Unlike in 2016, Underwood is unlikely to jeopardize her key partnerships due to her association with Trump.
Regarding Underwood, even if she supports marriage equality, she may not fully recognize that the right’s persistent campaign against transgender individuals is closely linked to its efforts to sway public opinion against gay marriage.
The effort to overturn gay marriage is clearly part of a broader agenda, as highlighted by Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in the 2022 ruling that reversed Roe v. Wade. He suggested that the Supreme Court should “reconsider” marriage equality. Recently, Republicans in Idaho have taken steps to ask the Supreme Court to reverse its decision that legalized gay marriage, aiming to reinstate the state’s ban on same-sex unions.
Given the potential benefits of aligning with the MAGA movement, it seems unlikely that Underwood will change her stance based on these developments. Whether this association will lead to ongoing commercial success for Underwood, similar to what Aldean has experienced, is still uncertain. Despite her impressive history of No. 1 hits and millions of albums sold, Carrie Underwood continues to navigate the challenges of being a woman in country music, vying for one of the limited “female slots” on the radio.
Carrie Underwood Trump Inauguration
