Donald Trump, America president elect |
London (CNN)- British pop singer Rebecca Ferguson says she has been
invited to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration, but her response may not be
the RSVP the President-elect's team were expecting.
The former UK X-Factor runner-up
said she would only accept the invitation on the condition that she could
perform "Strange Fruit" -- a song protesting racism in 1930s America,
made famous by Billie Holiday.
Rebecca Ferguson was the runner-up
of the UK's X Factor in 2010.
In a statement posted to the singer's Twitter account on Monday night Ferguson
said: "I've been asked and this is my answer. If you allow me to sing
"strange fruit" a song that has huge historical importance, a song
that was blacklisted in the United States for being too controversial. A song
that speaks to all the disregarded and down trodden black people in the United
States. A song that is a reminder of how love is the only thing that will
conquer all the hatred in this world, then I will graciously accept your
invitation and see you in Washington. Best Rebecca X"
The lyrics, written in the 1930s by
Jewish communist Abel Meeropol, were composed as a protest poem to highlight
endemic racism in America's southern states.
The song's opening lyrics deal with
lynching, which was still happening in parts of the country at the time: Southern
trees bear strange fruit // Blood on the leaves and blood at the root // Black
bodies swinging in the southern breeze // Strange fruit hanging from the poplar
trees.
According to Billie Holiday's Estate, Holiday
regularly performed the song at live performances in 1939. Her record label,
Columbia, refused to let her record the song under their name, so they granted
her a one-session contractual release that gave Holiday clearance to
independently record the track.
Later that year, the album featuring
"Strange Fruit" sold a million copies, becoming Holiday's
biggest-selling record at the time. In 1978, the single was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame.
In 2015 Ferguson released her third
album, "Lady Sings the Blues," featuring covers from Billie Holiday's
record of the same name. "Strange Fruit" was not featured on
Ferguson's album.
Ferguson's rep told CNN that she had
no further comment.
Trump's transition team did not
return a request for comment at the time of publishing.
So
who will perform?
With less than a month to go, the
inaugural committee has announced three acts so far: the Radio City Rockettes,
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and 16-year-old "America's Got Talent"
star Jackie Evancho.
But in this small group of
performers, there's no shortage of controversy.
Last week, a member of the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir -- a group who has previously performed at five presidential
inaugurations -- quit, stating that the performance for Trump
would betray her values.
Earlier in December, the Madison
Square Garden Company released a statement saying individual dancers
from the Rockettes wouldn't be compelled to participate at the inauguration
after Phoebe Pearl, a dancer with group, reportedly protested on Instagram
about the group being chosen to perform at the event. Her post has since been
deleted.
In November, Elton John refused an invitation to
perform at the inauguration, denying a claim made by a vice chair of
Trump's presidential inaugural committee.
Last month, The Beach Boys told CNN
that the group has been contacted about performing, but that "no decision
has been made at this point as to how or whether they will participate."
In a Twitter post last month, Trump
said that he wanted "the PEOPLE" at the inauguration -- not
"so-called "A" list celebrities."
At Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration,
Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Brad Paisley and Alicia Keys performed.
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