The massive We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert was shut down early due to severe weather caused by Hurricane Henri. But before the event was officially canceled, several artists stuck around backstage, holding out hope that they’d be able to perform once the weather cleared.
In an especially surreal scene, The Killers staged an intimate performance of “Mr. Brightside” in their dressing room backstage — which was aired live on CNN, courtesy of CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King, who may or may not have been heavily intoxicated.
CNN, which was the broadcast home of We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, had Anderson Cooper anchor the rain delay. Several of the participating artists called in via cell phone to chat with Cooper, including Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, and Elvis Costello. But the biggest highlight came when King and CNN’s Don Lemon dialed up Cooper and casually mentioned that The Killers were performing an acoustic set backstage. Cooper wisely asked the two to take video of The Killers so they could air it on CNN, and despite being employed by a competing network, King happily obliged.
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King FaceTimed The Killers’ performance of “Mr. Brightside” live on CNN, but given that she may or may not have been heavily intoxicated, most of the video was just her loudly singing over the band’s own Brandon Flowers. Lemon, meanwhile, was seen jumping up and down as if was surrounded by the crowd of 60,000 people who had been sent home hours earlier. Watch the replay below.
Sadly, We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert was canceled before The Killers and several other major artists were able to take the main stage.
Update: Footage of the rest of The Killers’ backstage set has surfaced. They also played “Read My Mind” and “Human.” Watch below.
. The Killers doing Mr. Brightside for Gayle King, Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper and CNN. pic.twitter.com/CYlBTEhySn
Advertisement— The Killers News (@NewsTheKillers) August 22, 2021
So @AndersonCooper convinced @GayleKing to FaceTime in backstage from @TheKillers‘ trailer for an acoustic performance of “Mr. Brightside.” 🥵️#WeLoveNYCConcert pic.twitter.com/EeFONABx7T
— Brandon (@Launerts) August 22, 2021
