Cornell's daughter honors father, Chester Bennington in song on 'GMA'

The Associated Press
FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2014 file photo, Chester Bennington poses in the press room at the 25th annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas in Inglewood, Calif. The late rock singers Bennington and Chris Cornell were honored by Cornell’s 12-year-old daughter and the band OneRepublic during a moving and heartfelt live performance Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. Toni Cornell and OneRepublic sang “Hallelujah” on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The two late singers were close friends, and Bennington was the godfather to Chris Cornell’s 11-year-old son, Chris. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK — The late rock singers Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington were honored by Cornell’s 12-year-old daughter and the band OneRepublic during a moving and heartfelt live performance Friday.

Toni Cornell and OneRepublic performed “Hallelujah” on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” while OneRepublic also dedicated the performance of its new song, “Rich Love,” to Bennington.

“It’s an honor to perform this for my dad and Chester and to sing for them,” Toni Cornell said in an interview Friday.

Cornell and Bennington were close friends, and Bennington was the godfather to Chris Cornell’s 11-year-old son, Chris.

Cornell hanged himself in May. Bennington, who was 41, hanged himself on what would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday last month. Both deaths were ruled suicides.

Bennington sang “Hallelujah” at Cornell’s funeral, and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder said that one was of the reasons why they decided to perform the Leonard Cohen track.

Cornell was a leader of the grunge movement with Seattle-based Soundgarden, with whom he gained critical and commercial acclaim. He also found success outside the band with his solo music and the bands Audioslave and Temple of the Dog.

Bennington helped Linkin Park, whose sound mixed rap and rock, become one of the most commercially successful acts in the 2000s. The Grammy-winning group sold more than 10 million copies of its 2000 debut, “Hybrid Theory,” which featured the megahit and anthem, “In the End.”

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Online:

Cornell-Bennington tribute: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/remembering-rock-icons-chester-bennington-chris-cornell-49031847