President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will soon take office — and the pair are set to ring in their new administration with some of the most respected names in entertainment. Academy Award winner Tom Hanks has been announced as the host of a 90-minute special, Celebrating America, which will air after the duo are sworn into America’s top office on January 20.
During the inauguration itself, Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks and Jennifer Lopez are performing for Biden and Harris. Gaga will take the stage outside the Capitol rotunda to sing the national anthem, just as she did at Super Bowl 50. Jennifer and Garth are both slated for “musical performances.” No other details are known. Later that night, as America celebrates Biden and Harris being sworn in, the party begins.
Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, and Ant Clemons are set to perform during the program which will “showcase the American people’s resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to heal and rebuild.” Former Disney star Demi revealed she was “speechless” when asked to perform. “I’m SO honored to announce that I will be joining @joebiden & @kamalaharris for their special event, Celebrating America,” she captioned an Instagram post on January 13. “I was left speechless when I was asked to perform.”
Meanwhile, Justin gave fans a behind the scenes look at the writing process for his new song “Better Days”, which he will perform on the TV special. “This past year brought a lot of frustration, grief, anger — and there were times when it was easy to feel powerless,” Justin captioned a January 13 Instagram clip. “This song was our way of doing what little we could to encourage everyone to stay hopeful… and keep working towards a better, more equal future. I’m very honored to announce we will be performing this song on January 20th for the Presidential Inauguration. We have a long way to go to fix, undo, and rebuild this country… but I hope now, despite the past four years, we are on our way.”
The party doesn’t stop there. Celebrating America will also feature performances from John Legend, Bruce Springsteen, and Foo Fighters. More musical acts are expected to be announced in the coming days. Additionally, Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria, who presented during the DNC in August, will introduce various segments throughout the night. Frontline workers, healthcare workers, teachers, and other heroic Americans will be honored during the broadcast, per the official synopsis.
Celebrating America will air on January 20 at 8:30pm ET/PT on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and Amazon Prime Video. Online, you can tune into the Presidential Inauguration Committee’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch channels for live streams.
