This past week we have seen an outpouring of love and support from some of the world's most celebrated musicians who released music videos to honor the victims of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. I have put together this post highlighting many of the moving performances. You will find openly gay singers such as Jimmy Somerville, Tom Goss and Adam Lambert, along with LGBT allies such as Janet Jackson, Adele and Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown. These artists dedicated past hits or performed covers of songs they felt spoke to the tragic events at the gay nightclub, Pulse in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016.
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Out Singer Jimmy Somerville's Tearful Tribute to the Victims of Orlando Massacre
SCOTTISH singer Jimmy Somerville has broken down in tears in an emotional Facebook post paying tribute to the victims of Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. Fifty people lost their lives in the deadliest mass shooting in US history when gunman Omar Mateen opened fire on the revellers at the gay nightclub Pulse. A further 53 were injured in the shooting. Jimmy was a massive star in the 1980s in bands Bronski Beat and The Communards, scoring hits including Smalltown Boy and Don't Leave Me This Way. He was so touched by what happened, he felt he had to make his own tribute. Jimmy starts his message singing lyrics from his 1984 hit Why, a huge gay anthem about anti-gay prejudice. He then explains "The lyrics are still as meaningful now as they were then." He holds up a light pink rose and says, "The rose is widely recognised as the flower of love. He adds, "This rose is for all those who died in Orlando on Sunday morning, it is for all those who survived." He goes on, "Never stop holding hands, never stop kissing the lips of those you love. If you love someone, tell them you love them and give them a rose." Musician Jimmy says he felt he had to give out a message of solidarity, and that his message comes from the heart. (Daily Record)
Visit Jimmy Somerville's official website
You can follow Jimmy Somerville on Twitter
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Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown Responds to Orlando Shootings With, ”A Song About Your Gun“
In response to the June 12 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL, Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown posted a recording of himself playing and singing his original tune, "A Song About Your Gun." The composer of The Last Five Years, The Bridges of Madison County and Honeymoon in Vegas said he started to write the song in December 2015 after a previous gun massacre, but said, “I couldn’t really figure out how to finish it. The second verse came to me with startling clarity in April, on a day when gun violence had temporarily receded from the front pages.” He recorded this performance at the Greenwich Village club SubCulture April 23 and posted it on his own website June 16. The lyrics are below. (Playbill)
You can follow Jason Robert Brown on Twitter
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Out Singer, Tom Goss Performs Haunting "Bleecker St" As Tribute To Victims of Pulse Nightclub Massacre
Tom Goss shares: "I've struggled with what to say about Orlando until I realized I couldn't do it better than Namoli Brennet already had. This song was written in the aftermath of the anti-gay murders on Bleecker Street (2013) but the sentiment still rings true."
You can follow Tom Goss on Twitter
Visit Namoli Brennet's official website
You can follow Namoli Brennet on Twitter
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Janet Jackson - "Shoulda Known Better" (A Tribute To The Victims of the Orlando Shooting)
Janet Jackson shared a video honoring those affected by the tragedy. Set to “Shoulda Known Better,” off the singer’s 2015 album Unbreakable, the video includes photos of the victims and clips of Barack Obama speaking about the need for gun control. An avid Jackson fan named Lamont Hicks initially posted the video on Monday, before Jackson herself shared it via Twitter with the caption “You’ll never be forgotten. #WeAreOrlando #Unbreakable.” (Entertainment Weekly)
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Adele Dedicates Her Song "Rumour Has It" To Pulse Nightclub Massacre
Adele: she’ll make you laugh, she’ll make you cry. Well, mostly the second—though the singer certainly has managed both over the past week. Sometimes, it’s a trick she pulls in the very same breath. For proof, witness this clip from her June 12 Antwerp show, which Adele dedicated “to everybody in Orlando at Pulse nightclub”—a pledge that was met with thunderous applause. Pulse, of course, is the gay nightspot where 50 people were killed (and 53 more were injured) early Sunday morning, in the worst mass shooting the United States has ever seen. “The LGBTQ community, they’re like my soulmates since I was really young. So I’m very moved by it,” Adele continued, getting visibly choked up. Immediately after, though, the Grammy winner switched gears: “I don’t know why I’m crying already, because most of this tonight is pretty miserable—because my songs are fucking miserable,” she joked, shaking off her emotional dedication. “I do have two songs that sound happy, but they’re not.” She ended by warning her sold-out audience that if they’d “like to dance, this is your final chance, literally,” before segueing into her bouncy 2011 hit “Rumour Has It.” (Vanity Fair)
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Queen & Adam Lambert Dedicate 'Who Wants to Live Forever' to Orlando Victims at Wight Festival in the U.K.
Queen and Adam Lambert honored the memory of the victims of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando at the U.K.'s Isle of Wight Festival on Sunday, closing their headlining set with a moving and emotional performance of the 1986 song "Who Wants to Live Forever." Standing alone at a microphone on a darkened stage surrounded by dramatic blue and purple laser lights, Lambert was somber as he spoke of the fallen. "This song is dedicated to those who lost their lives last night in Orlando, Florida, and anyone who has been a victim of senseless violence or hatred," he said. (Billboard)
UPDATE (Sunday, June 26, 2016)
This past week the Broadway community recorded the classic song "What The World Needs Now" as a charity single. You can watch the video here In this video you will find a who's who from television, film and theatre. Among the participants are Oscar-winners, Tony-winners, Grammy-winners, Emmy-winners.
You can purchase the song for only $1.99 at Broadway Records. 100% of the proceeds goes to the GBLT Community Center of Central Florida. For more information or to make a direct donation click HERE
