President Donald Trump’s inauguration took place on January 20th, 2017. The concert proceeding the ceremony is usually scheduled with many A-List performers. When Barack Obama was inaugurated into office in 2009, he had a handful of big-named talent including: Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Shakira, Garth Brooks, Jamie Foxx, Usher, and Sheryl Crow. Trump’s Inauguration concert falls far in comparison to the performers.  His most well-known performers included Toby Keith, The Rockettes, and Lee Greenwood; as the list goes on, the performers become less well known, including: Jackie Evancho, Sam Moore, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Jon Voight, and 3 Doors Down.

It is usually an honor to be considered to be a part of the inauguration, but this year, it was not like that. With the media following Trump’s campaign and shaming supporters, many performers did not was to scar their name and get bad publicity that came with accepting to perform. Even if they did publicly support Trump, it was too much of a risk to their careers. Artists who turned down President Trump’s invitation to perform include: Elton John, Kiss, Celine Dion, Moby, Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Rebecca Ferguson, and Charlotte Church.