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Jackie Evancho's transgender sister supports plan to sing at Trump inauguration

By Karen Butler
Jackie Evancho performs during "A Capitol Fourth -- Rehearsals" in Washington, D.C. on July 3, 2016. Evancho is to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI
Jackie Evancho performs during "A Capitol Fourth -- Rehearsals" in Washington, D.C. on July 3, 2016. Evancho is to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Juliet Evancho said she supports her sister Jackie's decision to sing at President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration, but admits she herself will not be there.

"The way I look it at is Jackie is singing for our country and it's an honor for her to be singing in front of so many people, so I feel like that's really where I look at it and that's where I am going to leave it right now," Juliet said in an interview that aired on CBS Sunday Morning.

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Asked if she will attend the high-profile event, Juliet replied, "I have prior engagements, so I will not be there."

So, what does Jackie hope to give the people in the audience?

"I hope to just kind of make everyone forget about rivals and politics for a second and just think about America and the pretty song that I'm singing," Jackie said. "I'm hoping that I can bring people together."

The interview aired one day after Jennifer Holiday backed out of a planned performance at a pre-inauguration concert planned for Thursday, due to tremendous pressure from the LGBT community to cancel.

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Jackie, 16, came in second place on America's Got Talent when she was 10 years old. She has since released a string of hit albums and has the distinction of being the youngest performer to ever give a solo concert at New York's Lincoln Center. Last summer, she sang "God Bless America" on the A Capital Fourth special on PBS.

Trump's representatives announced last month that she would sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at his swearing-in ceremony.

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