Among the controversial lineup at Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities, the Piano Guys performed at the Freedom Ball and the Liberty Ball on Friday night, playing a mash-up of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song†and “Amazing Grace.†The choice was regarded as a pointed one, as “Fight Song†is widely considered to have been Hillary Clinton’s campaign song. Now, the Piano Guys are denying political intentions to the choice, and Platten is calling out the group for playing the song without her permission. Platten addressed the controversy by tweeting, “While I respect the office of the President and the peaceful transfer of power, I want to make clear that at at no point did the Piano Guys ask for permission, nor did I or anyone on my team know of, approve or endorse their decision to play Fight Song tonight.†The Piano Guys responded to Platten by issuing a statement acknowledging that Platten did not endorse the choice. It said, “Our performance tonight had nothing to do with politics. We chose to perform our version of ‘Fight Song/Amazing Grace’ - it was not endorsed by Rachel Platten. We love Rachel and we love her song.â€
Platten wasn’t the only artist driven to comment on the Piano Guys’ inaugural-song selections, as the group also drew ire for their use of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful†at Thursday’s “Make America Great Again†inaugural concert. The song’s writer Savan Kotecha tweeted his frustration, writing, “There’s nothing I can do re WMYB now, but the song was written out of love for my wife. It’s just heartbreaking that it was used to celebrated a man who stands for divisiveness.â€
[Low-note piano key thunk.]