Jason Aldean expresses himself best through music. The musician has struggled to come up with the right words to say in response to what happened less than a week ago, when his performance turned into mayhem, and then into a massacre in Las Vegas. On Saturday night, he turned to music to share what he was going through and what he felt. He couldn't have found a bigger audience than that of "Saturday Night Live." And there was no better song to sing than the classic of a fallen legend.
'Saturday Night Live' surprise
"Saturday Night Live" tends to take a pause from the laughs to address large-scale tragedies, which they need to do far too often now.
People wondered how the sketch show would address the deadly shooting in Las Vegas. They did it during their cold open, usually reserved for political commentary. Instead of having a cast member address the audience, however, they had Aldean himself on the stage, ready to sing "I Won't Back Down," a Tom Petty classic; Petty passed earlier in the week.
Jason Aldean opens SNL with brief monologue on Las Vegas, launches into cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” pic.twitter.com/R73cFvU22v
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 8, 2017
Before diving into the song, Aldean spoke of unity and the American spirit. "I Won't Back Down" is self-explanatory, especially in the face of forces trying to harm the American way of life.
Last November, an episode of "Saturday Night Live" started in similar fashion. Kate McKinnon sat at a piano and sang "Hallelujah." It was the week that Leonard Cohen - who popularized the classic song - had died. It was also the week Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election to Donald Trump. For the folks at "SNL," that rose to the level of a tragedy as well.
Aldean back in public
The country singer was headlining a Las Vegas country music festival last Sunday when hundreds of shots rang out from a window of the Mandalay Bay hotel. When it was finally over, 58 innocent people were dead and almost 500 were injured, putting the city into a state of panic. Aldean himself ran off the stage when the gunfire began, which many originally mistook for fireworks.
Aldean has since posted messages on his social media accounts, expressing his heartbreak over what happened and sending prayers to everyone affected by the tragedy. There was a sentiment for him to perform at UFC 216 in Las Vegas this weekend, but that didn't come to fruition, leading to harsh words from UFC commissioner Dana White. Instead, Aldean decided to go to New York and appear on "Saturday Night Live," where his message of heartbreak and hope could reach a larger audience.