Miley Cyrus was meant to pay tribute to the great late Taylor Hawkins at the drummer’s tribute concert. In fact, Hawkins knew she would kill him with one song in particular. That’s exactly what the pop star did.
On September 27, 2022, over 50 artists performed for six hours to honor the great Taylor Hawkins. The late Foo Fighters drummer is remembered by mega pop stars, former band members and rock legends. One of those stars was Hawkins’ former neighbor, Miley Cyrus. Also, Cyrus’ song choice was a request from Hawkins himself.
“A personal request from the legend himself”
The day after the tribute concert, Cyrus posted on Instagram how meaningful it was to perform at the show. She also shared the special meaning of her song choice, “Photograph” by Def Leppard.
“A personal request from the legend himself. #TaylorHawkins my friend, my idol…. My neighbour,” the singer wrote. “Growing up on a farm, I could never see the light of another house nearby, but living with Taylor during my years in Los Angeles was one of the funniest times of my life. I miss Taylor so much, like everyone else. It was such an honor to celebrate him last night and perform with @defleppard 🖤 How lucky to have known him not just as a superstar but to have spent time watching him just be a father and husband! Last night was the most special way to remember the MOST special person! @foofighters forever”
In the Instagram post, the singer first shares the undated audio recording Hawkins left behind for Cyrus. Hawkins apparently called Cyrus when he found out she was leaving his neighborhood. “What’s up Miley, it’s Taylor. I heard you were moving. Wow! I listen to ‘Photograph’ by Def Leppard. You could kill this one.
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Kill him, she did. Wearing a short black dress, dark sunglasses and ’80s rock-inspired blonde hair, Cyrus nailed the performance of “Photograph.” Plus, it didn’t hurt that she sang alongside Joe Elliott and Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, and Pat Wilson of Weezer. Still, there’s no doubt that Hawkins was right when he said she would do the song proud. You can watch part of the performance in the second video shared by Cyrus in the Instagram post above.
Cyrus then followed up this post with more photos of her performance. This time, tagging the Foo Fighters and Def Leppard, she simply wrote, “In memory of Taylor Hawkins.”