Tony Orlando is set to perform at President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday.
The singer confirmed Saturday that he would appear at the Salute to the Armed Forces and Services Ball at the National Building Museum, one of three official inauguration events.
"I have been asked if I would be kind enough to perform, and it is an honor and a privilege to do that,” Orlando said, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Orlando, a frequent headliner in Las Vegas, is best known for his 1973 No. 1 hit "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree."
The musician, who has a 40-year history of performing at military events, downplayed the controversy surrounding Trump's election.
"I am an entertainer. I’m not a politician," Orlando said, according to the Review-Journal. "I have worked for Republicans and Democrats, and I honestly can’t distinguish, in my audience, Republicans from Democrats, and I’m not going to try to start now."
Orlando, 72, said Trump "has been a good friend for a long time," the Review-Journal reported, noting that Orlando performed at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City in the mid-1980s and appeared on "The Apprentice" in 2015.
Orlando told Bill O'Reilly of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" that the controversy surrounding Trump's inauguration "saddens" him.
"I guess I come from an old-fashioned frame of mind, maybe back when America was great. I have a red, white, and blue state of mind," Orlando said, adding that he believes it's his "patriotic duty" to perform.
Twitter users shared mixed reactions to the appearance.
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