Donald Trump’s inauguration will be a massive celebration after an incredible comeback.
The moment could be extra special for him.
And Donald Trump got one surprise about his inauguration that left him dancing for joy.
Donald Trump creates renewed interest in Village People’s Y.M.C.A.
President-elect Donald Trump has made the Village People’s hit song Y.M.C.A. a staple of his campaign rallies.
Trump’s signature dance to the song has become a cultural phenomenon and has been used by professional athletes for their celebrations.
TOTAL. MAGA. TAKEOVER. #TRUMPDANCE pic.twitter.com/TX3L9ZKoLS
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 17, 2024
Village People lead singer Victor Willis, who co-wrote Y.M.C.A., asked the Trump campaign to stop using the song during the 2020 Election.
Willis is singing a different tune now that Trump’s embrace of it has given the song newfound popularity.
He told Fox & Friends First that he changed his mind about the President-elect using the song after he saw how happy it made people.
“I decided to allow the president-elect’s continued use of Y.M.C.A. because he seems to genuinely, genuinely like the song and so many other artists were stopping him from using their music,” Willis explained. “So I decided to contact BMI [Broadcast Music, Inc.] and told them not to terminate his political use license because he seemed to be bringing so much joy to the American people with his use of Y.M.C.A.“
46 years after Y.M.C.A. was released, it hit number one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart because of the newfound interest in it created by Trump.
Village People founder open to performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration
Willis admitted that he supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the election but that wouldn’t stop him from potentially performing at Trump’s inauguration in January.
“Because the President-Elect has done so much for Y.M.C.A. and brought so much joy to so many people – the song has actually gone back to #1 and it’s still #1 today – so if he were to ask Village People to perform the song live for him, we’d have to seriously consider it,” Willis stated.
The Village People singer also approved of Trump’s dance moves to the hit song.
“That’s the Trump thing,” Willis said. “When we do the show we spell out the letters, but when he does it he just does his little move and that’s his move. And it works for him and that’s what’s important.”
He claimed that the newfound interest in the song led to the band making several million dollars in royalties from its use.
But Willis decided to let Trump use the song after he saw so many artists blocking the President-elect from using their music.
“The money was not really the reason that I allowed him to do it,” Willis explained. “The reason that I allowed him to keep using Y.M.C.A. is because he seemed to genuinely like the song, and there were so many other artists that were stopping him from playing their music.”
The Village People performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration would be a fitting tribute after he sparked a resurgence of interest in the classic disco song.
