The 2021 inauguration celebrations wrapped up Wednesday night with a prime-time program hosted by Tom Hanks, featuring a lineup of top-tier performers and remarks from the newly sworn in President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
With people encouraged to celebrate the inauguration from home amid the pandemic, the “Celebrating America” event takes the place of the usual official inaugural balls.
It was livestreamed across several platforms and all major networks, including on KTLA, starting at 5:30 p.m. PT.
The program lasted 90 minutes and meant to “represent the rich diversity and extensive talent America offers,” according to the Biden Inaugural Committee.
“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed a classical recitation, joining musicians like Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake and Bon Jovi. Hosts Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria were joined by basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, chef Jose Andres, labor leader Dolores Huerta and Kim Ng, the first female general manager in MLB history.
The inaugural committee has made sure to blend this high-powered list with ordinary Americans and inspiring stories. Segments included tributes to a UPS driver, a kindergarten teacher and Sandra Lindsay, the first in New York to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside a clinical trial.
Earlier Wednesday, a full-throated and supremely confident Lady Gaga belted out the national anthem at Biden’s swearing in at the U.S. Capitol.
The Grammy winner wore a huge dove brooch and an impressively billowing red sculpted skirt as she sang into a golden microphone, delivering an emotional and powerful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” She was followed at Wednesday’s ceremony by Jennifer Lopez, dressed all in white, who threw a line of Spanish into her medley of “This Land is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful” — a pointed nod to multiculturalism, just two weeks after white supremacists and other violent rioters stormed the Capitol in an effort to undermine the peaceful transfer of power.
And country star Garth Brooks, doffing his black cowboy hat, sang a gospel-tinged, soulful a capella rendition of “Amazing Grace,” his eyes closed for much of the song. He asked the audience to sing a verse with him: “Not just the people here, but the people at home, to work as one united.”
Gaga went on Twitter later to explain that the giant brooch accompanying her Schiaparelli haute couture outfit was “a dove carrying an olive branch. May we all make peace with each other.” Lopez was in all-white Chanel, and Brooks kept it real in jeans, an open-collared black shirt and blazer.
While the podium was full of high-wattage star power, there was little question that a new star had also emerged: 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman, whose poise and urgency as she recited “The Hill We Climb” enthralled a global audience.
There was also a virtual “Parade Across America,” hosted by actor Tony Goldwyn with appearances by Jon Stewart, Earth Wind & Fire and the New Radicals — reuniting after more than two decades — among many others.