Posted by Maura Johnston on 01/11/2013 at 12:40 PM News

The Popdust Files: alicia keys, barack obama, brad paisley, far east movement, fun, inauguration, katy perry, mindless behavior, nick cannon, politics, smokey robinson, Stevie Wonder, usher

Earlier this week, Beyoncé, James Taylor, and Kelly Clarkson were announced as the entertainment for Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremonies, which happen a week from Monday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Today brought the news that more pop stars would be celebrating Obama’s re-election with performances at the weekend’s officially sanctioned events—a pair of inaugural balls (taking place on January 21, the day of the president’s public swearing-in) and a children’s concert (scheduled for January 19). Who’ll show up where has yet to be announced, but the lineup is pretty formidable, and full of familiar names not just to pop conoisseurs, but to people who scanned every election-related headline in the days leading up to November 6:

Katy Perry (no word on whether she’ll commission another appropriate outfit)
Usher
Smokey Robinson
Alicia Keys
Brad Paisley
Marc Anthony
Stevie Wonder
John Legend (who performed at a campaign rally in San Francisco)
The cast of Glee
Far East Movement (who right before the election took a break from flying around in their G6 to release a pro-Obama song)
fun.
Mindless Behavior (OMG!!!!!)
Nick Cannon (proof that America Does Indeed Have Talent)
Soul Children of Chicago (a Chicago-based non-denominational choir that’s been performing for 30 years)

Thanks to concerns about seeming excessive in an era of economic uncertainty, the 2013 docket will be much lighter on official parties than the hoopla celebrating Obama’s election—four years ago, there were 10 sanctioned parties and a concert on the National Mall, and the entertainment included sets by Kanye West, Kid Rock, and Fall Out Boy, as well as Beyoncé’s performance of “At Last.” The outdoor concert had two of this year’s performers, Stevie Wonder and Usher, collaborating on “Higher Ground” with Shakira:

Tickets to the galas sold out quickly earlier this week, thanks to a Ticketmaster glitch that resulted in an email with the ticketing link going out ahead of schedule; as a result of this inadvertent presale, tickets got snapped up en masse early—and while Washington’s NFL team was being given the heave-ho from the playoffs. (One incensed Facebook commenter called the mishap an “inside job,” because politics equal conspiracies at all times.)

[Washington Post]