No one person could replace the powerful singing voice of the late grunge icon Chris Cornell. Toronto’s Choir! Choir! Choir! knew that, so they enlisted the help of 225 people to pay tribute to Cornell and belt out the massive chorus of Soundgarden’s most well-known hit “Black Hole Sun.”
In an absolutely crammed room, the Toronto-based choir does its best to approximate the stopping power of Cornell’s heavy metal-indebted wail. They don’t get there, but they come about as close as any mortal can — barring Adele stepping up to the plate. The choir’s take on the Superunknown track is merely the latest musical tribute to Cornell, who took his own life after a show in Detroit last week. Close friend and fellow legend Ann Wilson performed a heartbreaking take on the track earlier this week and other megawatt acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, U2 and Eric Church have all trotted out their favorite songs from Cornell’s long career to show their respects.
Outside of the covers, there have been plenty of other tributes, including an emotional letter from Cornell’s widow and a fan-made memorial in Seattle that grunge fans flocked to to express their collective grief, in as much as that’s possible.
