Constantine Maroulis 'Not Surprised' Carrie Underwood Performed at Donald Trump's Inauguration: She 'Killed It'

Constantine Maroulis weighed in on the scandal surrounding his former American Idol competitor Carrie Underwood performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

“Carrie knows her brand,” Maroulis exclusively told OK! of her decision to perform in Washington, D.C.. “She’s got great people [around her]. She knows her audience. She's Carrie Underwood. She's not Taylor Swift necessarily. She's her own person. She's got her own lane.”

The Rock of Ages star insisted Underwood, who is set to be a judge on American Idol, “knows what she’s doing.”

He also he's not surprised her appearance made headlines.

“You know, just like the president knows, every time he says some wild s---, it's gonna light up the internet, take over the news cycle,” he stated. “You know how it is these days — you have to sort of sell that to sell anything, unfortunately. I think deep down Carrie is a good person.” While many were shocked by Underwood seemingly supporting Trump, Maroulis was not taken aback by the ordeal. “I'm not surprised about where she sort of sits politically or socially and all of that,” he noted. “But I still think that we can all have different opinions and passions about it… but she’s hosted the Country [Music] Awards. She did some jokes about Obamacare. I mean, it’s not really new, is it?”

Maroulis’ politics clearly are not in line with Trump, but he was very complimentary of the “Before He Cheats” songstress. “She’s had an incredible career,” he said. “I knew she was going to very successful. I knew early on how talented she was. She’s just got an instrument [her voice]. She can wake up and just park it and bark it as they say.”

The singer, who got his start in Broadway’s Rent, also touched on Underwood’ experiencing technical issues during her inauguration performance.