Christina Aguilera sings Obama favourite at Presidential Center grand opening in Chicago

• Aguilera, 45, sang a brand new arrangement of 'What a Wonderful World' for Barack Obama
• The Obama Presidential Center is a 19.3-acre campus on Chicago's South Side
• The centre officially opens to the public on Friday

Christina Aguilera delivered the standout moment of the Obama Presidential Center's star-studded grand opening on Thursday, 18 June in Chicago — performing a specially arranged rendition of "What a Wonderful World," one of Barack Obama's favourite songs, before a crowd that included the former president and Michelle Obama.

PEOPLE reported that the event took place at the centre's John Lewis Plaza, featuring a constellation of musical performances from some of the biggest names in music.

A debut performance for a special occasion

Aguilera, 45, had never previously performed the American standard in public. First recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1967, the song holds personal significance for the 44th President. Valerie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation, introduced Aguilera and explained the significance of the moment.

"When we asked her to sing of President Obama's favorite songs, she told us, 'Well, uh, I've never sung it in public before,'" Jarrett said. "But she came up with a new arrangement just for this occasion, and we are so grateful."

Obama, 64, was seen smiling beside Michelle Obama as Aguilera sang. The couple rose to give her a standing ovation when she finished.

A night of musical heavyweights

The opening ceremony also featured performances by Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, U2's Bono and The Edge, Eddie Vedder, Marc Anthony, Tems, Common, Marsai Martin, and The Roots.

Obama is a well-known music enthusiast who publishes an annual list of his favourite songs and artists. His 2025 selections included Olivia Dean, Lady Gaga, and BLACKPINK.

The centre itself

Obama and Michelle Obama celebrated the opening alongside their daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 25. The Obama Presidential Center is a 19.3-acre global campus on Chicago's South Side, designed to inspire, empower, and connect changemakers. Its facilities include a museum housed inside an eight-story brutalist tower — nicknamed the "Obamalisk" by some — alongside a Chicago public library branch, a fitness centre, an athletic centre, event spaces, and outdoor areas. The centre officially opens to the public on Friday, 19 June.

Aguilera's recent high-wire moment

The Obama Centre performance is the latest in a string of notable public appearances for Aguilera. In December, she marked the 25th anniversary of her holiday album My Kind of Christmas with a concert film shot atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris — an experience she later described as genuinely terrifying during an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show.

"Singing atop the Eiffel Tower, that was..." she began. "I am terrified of heights. I don't even do Ferris wheels because I'm so afraid of heights. It's like I'll do a coaster, but like don't put me still above up in the air looking down."

She continued: "I was literally terrified. There was a moment, I mean, you just go up and up and up, and I don't like elevators either. So it's like double whammy. It's confined space and we're like going up and you can see everything ... like, you're exposed, you can see all the things going up. And then there was a point where the guy in the elevator that was taking us up, he was like the elevator stopped all of a sudden. He was like, 'That is not normal.' And I was like, 'What do you mean it's not normal?'"

Despite the ordeal, Aguilera said the experience "paid off" and described it as "so magical."