Ricky Rebel Is Here To, Um, Make America Great Again On The Grammys Red Carpet

The Red Carpet has always been a place to make a bold statement, regardless of what award show the carpet might be there for. And Sunday night at the Grammys, singer Ricky Rebel made his own lasting impression with his pro-President Trump suit. But because you might not have known much about him before the Grammys, you probably wondering, who is Ricky Rebel?

He's not a Grammy nominee this year, but Rebel has spent the past couple of decades working with big artists and on his own to build his career as a singer. He started out as the lead singer in No Authority and went on to tour with tons of musicians, including 98 Degrees and Jessica Simpson. Shortly after he broke out onto his own, Rebel won Artist of the Year award at the RAWards and in 2014, he released The Blue Album.

Although Rebel is a musician in his own right, he's probably going to be most remembered this year for his pro-Trump suit at the Grammys. He initially showed up on the red carpet with a white jacket covered in reflective silver emblems, which he then turned inside out to reveal a "Keep America Great Again" slogan on the other side.

Rebel explained to Entertainment Tonight that the jacket was meant to reflect his own political leanings while promoting his most recent album.

"Well, I’m Ricky Rebel, I have a new album called The New Alpha so I wanted to wear something that represented what an alpha is and who an alpha is and I am the new alpha," he said. "And I’m reflecting millions of Americans out there who voted for Trump. Keep America great. That’s right, baby. We are here. We’re here all around the world, 50 million of us. My name is Ricky Rebel and I’m a reflection of America."

Surprisingly, Rebel isn't the only artist who made a pro-Trump statement on the Grammys red carpet this year. Princess Joy Villa wore a dress with the words "Build The Wall" on the back and held a "Make America Great Again" clutch. At the 2017 Grammy Awards, Villa wore a different dress with President Trump's slogan written down the front of it.

According to Rebel's website, when he isn't working on new music, he's contributing to Us Weekly and working on other side projects like his documentary Rebels Only. He definitely has a lot going on in his career, so Rebel's suit at the Grammys probably wasn't the publicity stunt it might seem like.

He's also been open about his support for Trump. He told USA Today on the red carpet, "I voted for Trump because I wanted to help the economy boom and now it's booming. I'm grateful for that. I get that not everybody loves him, but it's OK if you voted for him. Even if you're gay, or black, or a woman."

Rebel recently explained his political and social views in an interview with The Vivant. He said that although he's out of the "box" he was in as a child when he was pretending to be straight before he came out, he's now focused on being who he is, regardless of any social backlash.

"I’m coming out as a more conservative person who has very hardcore liberal tendencies with social issues, but I’m also very conservative minded on certain things," he said. "Now I’m pushed into a box where I can’t talk about some of those views. You have to be 100 percent to the left, or you’re a racist homophobe. I don’t think it’s healthy to be radically left or radically right. I think we have to come to the center."

This could have been where the inspiration for Rebel's Grammys red carpet look came from and his apparent need to be open about his beliefs. It definitely got people talking.