Chris Cornell’s Daughter Dedicates Heartbreaking ‘Good Morning America’ Cover of ‘Hallelujah’ to Dad and Chester Bennington
Fans swayed and wept in the audience as Chris Cornell's 12-year-old daughter Toni honored the memory of both her father and his close friend Chester Bennington on Good Morning America today. She joined One Republic to sing a rendition of "Hallelujah" dedicated to the Soundgarden and Linkin Park frontmen, who both recently died by suicide. The two bands toured together in the '00s.
OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder and the young Cornell traded lead vocals until they concluded the Leonard Cohen cover in unison. Linkin Park had been scheduled to perform today as part of the show's Summer Concert Series.
In a statement, Toni said, "It's an honor to perform this for my dad and Chester and to sing for them." In 2015, she joined her father on stage at New York City's Beacon Theatre to sing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" with him.
Cornell died at 52 by hanging in his Detroit hotel room following a performance with Soundgarden on May 18. Bennington performed "Hallelujah" at Cornell's memorial along with his Linkin Park bandmate Brad Delson. "My name is Chester," Bennington said at the service, according to Rolling Stone. "I had the great privilege of being a friend of Chris and invited to be a member of his family." The band also dedicated their Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance of "One More Light," the title track of their latest album, to his memory.
Two months later, at 41, Bennington also died by hanging in his California home after leaving his family vacation in Arizona to purportedly work.
Chester Bennington Through the Years: 2000-2017 Photos