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President-elect Donald Trump has found the first singer to perform at his inauguration. Jackie Evancho will sing the national anthem.
The 16-year-old classical music prodigy, who rose to fame on “America’s Got Talent” back in 2010, follows Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin who serenaded President Obama at his inaugurations.
“I’m so excited. It’s going to be awesome,” she said when announcing the news on NBC’s “Today” show. But then, picking her words carefully, she added, “To be able to sing for the office, it’s a great honor for me.”
By mentioning the office rather than the name of the President-elect, she was able to stop short of endorsing the politics of Trump, who has found little support in the showbiz community and reportedly been struggling to get A-list acts to perform at his swearing-in ceremony.
READ MORE: Trump’s Lonely Island: 5 Celebrities Who Support The Donald
That comes as no surprise to Grammy winner John Legend who told the BBC, “Creative people tend to reject bigotry and hate. We tend to be more liberal minded…It’s unlikely he’ll get a lot of creative people that want to be associated with him.”
That proved to be the case when about the only stars Trump was able to draw to the Republican National Convention were Scott Baio and Antonio Sabato Jr.
Jackie Evancho has met Trump before and has posted on her Facebook page a picture of her with him several years ago at this Mar-a-Lago resort.
In 2010, the same year she placed second on “America’s Got Talent,” Evancho performed for the Obamas at the White House’s National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.
READ MORE: 5 Performances That Killed It on ‘America’s Got Talent’ (VIDEO)
In the years that followed she released several big selling classical crossover albums but is now switching to more mainstream music and has a pop album out next year.
Jackie will appear on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular” on Dec. 19 which sees several of the best acts in the show’s history returning to perform festive routines.
Then on Jan. 20, 2017 she will sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony. But which other stars join her on the bill remains to be seen.
