Carrie Underwood and Nelly‘s streaming numbers slumped following their performances at Donald Trump‘s inauguration.
Underwood’s rendition of ‘America The Beautiful’ at the US President’s swearing-in ceremony went viral after she endured technical issues during her performance, with the backing track unable to play and Underwood having to sing a capella.
Despite that, her streaming numbers actually fell by 6 per cent on Inauguration Day (January 20).
Underwood’s music was streamed 1.46million times on the day, down from 1.55million the previous week, according to Luminate, via Billboard.
Both artists did see a small increase in digital download sales, although neither managed to top the 1,000 downloads mark that day.
Nelly, who performed at President Trump’s inaugural Liberty Ball and responded to backlash, calling it “an honour” to perform at the ceremony, also saw a decline in his listenership. His songs were streamed 1.54million times on the day of his inauguration, down from 1.63 million a week earlier.
Following Underwood’s performance, fellow country music singer Jason Aldean came to her defence. He told Fox And Friends: “First of all, it’s a hard song to do anyway. When you’re supposed to be singing to a track and that’s what gives you pitch reference for the song and to not have that and for her to just kinda say, ‘All right, listen, we’ll go.’ That’s a big move and that’s a pro move on her part, so I thought it was great.”
Underwood has kept her political views quiet throughout her career but was still subjected to criticism online for associating with Trump. She also didn’t endorse a candidate for the presidential election in November.
Underwood came under fire when it was announced she would be performing at the event. Whoopi Goldberg later defended her decision, but added that she will not be watching.
Donald Trump – CREDIT: Greg Nash/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Upon being officially sworn in, Trump immediately set about issuing a series of executive orders, including one declaring that the country would only recognise two genders: male and female.
The policy prompted widespread criticism, including from Lucy Dacus, who pledged $10,000 for trans surgeries for followers and encouraged others to donate similarly.
During the inauguration events, Elon Musk also gave a speech expressing his delight at Trump’s victory, before slapping his chest with his right hand and extending his arm diagonally upwards with the palm facing down. The X owner then turned around to crowd members behind the podium and repeated the gesture.
Many people compared the gesture to a Nazi salute, including My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero, who wrote: “Fuck this guy and every single person supporting this shit or wasting any kind of breath attempting to defend it,” he wrote in the caption, before adding: “Your true colours are shining through. #SmashHate.”
Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe also branded him a “fucking asshole” for doing so and Reddit communities started introducing a ban on links to X in protest at Musk’s controversial arm gesture.
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