Carrie Underwood has inaugural Mean Girls moment: 'Help me out here'

Carrie Underwood encountered some technical difficulties during Donald Trump's inauguration.

After Trump's swearing-in as the 47th president, the country star took the podium to sing "America the Beautiful" — but technical difficulties led to an awkward pause and performance of the patriotic song.

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The band that was meant to accompany Underwood did not play as planned, forcing her to sing a cappella and ask the crowd to sing along with her. "You know the words — help me out here," Underwood told the gathering at the U.S. Capitol Building, where the ceremony had been moved due to cold weather.

Underwood sang a few verses of "America the Beautiful," accompanied by scattered voices from the audience as well as the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club. Afterward, she shook hands with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

The moment called to mind a scene from the movie Mean Girls, when protagonist Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan) led the crowd in singing "Jingle Bell Rock" after a technical difficulty interrupted the music and stalled a performance to it.

In addition to Underwood, Lee Greenwood sang "God Bless the USA" at the Monday ceremony and Christopher Macchio sang the national anthem.

The American Idol alumnus, who historically has been an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, stirred controversy with her decision to perform at the inauguration, leading her to release a statement in defense.

"I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event," Underwood explained. "I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future."

The internet is, as expected, having a blast with the memes coming out of Carrie Underwood's performance — scroll through to see some of the funniest reactions.