Tapped to perform "America the Beautiful" at the 60th Presidential Inauguration Day Ceremony, held this year inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Underwood was escorted inside and awaited her musical cue to begin singing in front of Trump, his family, distinguished politicians and other celebrities.
But no cue would come.
For a fleeting moment, an instrumental track played before cutting out. Underwood, positioned in front of former President Biden, quickly ascertained that something was awry, leaving her to improvise. Video circulating online shows the country star speaking with someone on the production team saying, "I can just sing it."