American country musician Jason Aldean was onstage when Stephen Paddock, armed with 23 firearms, opened fire from a 32nd storey hotel room onto the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
Tonight on Saturday Night Live, Aldean replaced the traditional cold open with a touching tribute to the victims and the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting: a cover of the late, great Tom Petty‘s ‘I Won’t Back Down‘.
Before he began, Aldean addressed the survivors of the massacre directly, saying:
This week we witnessed one of the worst tragedies in American history. Like everyone, I’m struggling to understand what happened that night, and how to pick up the pieces and heal. So many people are hurting. There are children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends – they’re all part of our family. So I want to say to them: we hurt for you, and we hurt with you, but you can be sure we’re going to walk through these tough times together, every step of the way. Because when America is at its best, our bond and our spirit – it’s unbreakable.
.@Jason_Aldean opens tonight’s show performing “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty: https://t.co/qnYOCAdmUI #SNL pic.twitter.com/l26QMwft6e
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) October 8, 2017
Many have praised SNL’s choice to have Aldean open the show.
SNL cold open: Jason Aldean singing “Won’t Back Down.” Lovely, mournful and perfect.
— Beth Fouhy (@bfouhy) October 8, 2017
SNL opens with Jason Aldean performing Tom Petty’s ‘Won’t Back Down’. A thoughtful acknowledgment of what our country has experienced. pic.twitter.com/4HKdP7HvBx
— Adam Owens (@AdamOwensTV) October 8, 2017
Wow. Jason Aldean opening SNL singing Tom Petty “I Won’t Back Down.” Emotional. Chilling. Unexpected.
— Jacob Long (@JacobLongDC) October 8, 2017
https://twitter.com/ThatEricAlper/status/916870148010795008
If you want to watch the song itself, which is a pretty solid country cover of one of Tom Petty’s most famous tunes, you’ll need to either be in the US or have a VPN. It’s worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RRCbVBCRBE
