Ranking the objectively awful musical performances at Trump’s inauguration from best to worst

Donald Trump’s inauguration saw him sworn in as the President of the United States for a second time alongside some of the most cringe-worthy musical performances of his decade.

Though Trump’s actual inauguration occurred on Monday, performers you’ve never heard of – and the ones you wish you hadn’t – have been performing at Republican events such as the Victory Rally since Friday. None of them are particularly outstanding, especially when you consider the likelihood that Beyoncé would have performed at Kamala Harris’ swearing-in, but some are clearly better than others. Let’s take a look.

1. Christopher Macchio

I had never really heard of Christopher Macchio but he’s apparently a classical crossover singer and part of the New York Tenors. He sang a rendition of Oh, America that was as audibly pleasing as it was boring.

2. Village People

The Village People hold a special place in the hearts of the British public largely because their hit track YMCA is played at every family-friendly function, school disco, and drunken karaoke night. Though the band has maintained that YMCA is not a “gay song”, it has undoubtedly been adopted as such which makes its inclusion at Trump’s inauguration that much funnier.

The performance itself was much like you’d expect from a band 30 years past their prime: Doing too much and making you realise how cheesy the song has always been.

3. Rascal Flatts

Some of Rascal Flatts’ biggest songs include Life is a Highway, What Hurts the Most, Bless the Broken Road, and Here Comes Goodbye, all of which they performed on Monday. The performance wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t amazing.

4. Carrie Underwood

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Twitter was raging when Carrie Underwood, queen of the female rage anthem Before He Cheats, chose to perform at Trump’s inauguration of all places. Then, after some technical difficulties meant she had to perform America The Beautiful without a backing track, people were screaming “karma.”

Though I was sort of hoping for an awful performance comparable to Fergie’s viral national anthem, admittedly she sounded fairly good. Still, it was a huge anti-climax and I can’t see it launching a comeback for Carrie any time soon.

5. Jason Aldean

@thecountrywire

@jasonaldean performing “Try That In A Small Town” at the Liberty Ball during Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration 🇺🇸 🎥: PBS News #JasonAldean

♬ original sound – The Country Wire

Jason Aldean became the voice of the far-right in 2023 when he released his track Try That in a Small Town, which many people claimed was an endorsement of racism and politically motivated violence. Well, naturally he performed that at Trump’s Liberty Ball to thunderous applause.

6. Lee Greenwood

Lee Greenwood’s performance on the eve of the inauguration was serving drunk uncle at a family function. The words were slurred, he paced up and down the stage, and most of the footage is of Trump himself because Lee lacked the stage presence of Melania Trump’s hat.

7. Kid Rock

Not only does Kid Rock resemble a leathered local at a seedy bar, but his music would undoubtedly be playing in *that* local pub you don’t dare go into. His energy was on point though, if you enjoy manic flailing and head-banging more than musical talent.

8. Billy Ray Cyrus

Despite being the father of Hannah Montana, who come to think of it has never been seen in the same room as Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray’s performance had me questioning if nepotism works the other way around. He said “These people want to party” before giving his best impression of a Ninja blender with gravel in it, completely butchering songs such as Old Town Road and Achy Breaky Heart with a concerning amount of confidence.

Honestly, he should have just stuck to dancing around his pre-recorded tracks which was already 80 per cent of the performance.

Featured image credit: PBS NewsHour