Bush’s Gavin Rossdale recently disclosed in an Audacy Music interview that he was brought to tears upon hearing Evanescence’s Amy Lee’s vocals on a collaborative song for the first time. The collaboration took place when Bush was touring earlier this year, with a scheduled performance in Nashville, Lee’s hometown.
Rossdale, who had an existing friendship with Amy Lee, invited her to the show and proposed a joint performance on stage. Initially uncertain about her availability, Lee eventually sent Rossdale a demo of her vocals on the song just a few days before the show.
Gavin had been feeling uneasy, thinking he may have put her in an uncomfortable position, but upon hearing her voice on the track, all his worries went away. Overwhelmed by the beauty of her vocals, Rossdale admitted that he cried when he first listened to the song with Lee’s voice.
In the interview, Rossdale recounted the story behind the collaboration, sharing how he reached out to Lee and the unexpected outcome that followed. The collaboration came together in a memorable performance at Nashville’s Ryman Theater, where Rossdale and Lee performed Bush’s song ‘1000 Years’ together.
In the interview, Rossdale shared the story:
“Never thought we’d collaborate. What happened was we played the Rhyman Theater which is a famous old church in Nashville that people think of it as this crazy venue. Everyone freaks out about the venue. I didn’t know much about it, I am not from Nashville. So, I went to this beautiful auditorium, and she lives there so I wrote and asked her to come to the show. I just said, ‘Do you want to come and sing a song with me? Can I send you a song I was thinking that it’d be great if you sang one.’
She wrote back right away. She said, ‘I’m flying in that day, so a don’t think a song is possible, but I’m definitely going to come to the show. So I was like, ‘Okay, cool,’ and then I sort of regretted it. I was thinking I shouldn’t have maybe confronted her and instead gone through her management because no one likes to say ‘No’ directly. I didn’t hear back from her once I sent a song.
About 10 days late, a couple of days before the show, I was about to write to her and be like, ‘Hey listen, I apologize for kind of cornering you in that way. Don’t worry about the song. But I wanna see you come to the show, we’re buddies.’ For me and all of the band. She sent me the song back with her vocal on it. I did cry. I did. It was so beautiful, and I was so proud of that song, and it meant to me already. With Amy on it, it was just too good.”
The performance of ‘1000 Years’ showcased the powerful emotion of the song, amplified by Lee’s captivating vocals. The audience witnessed an unforgettable collaboration between these two talented artists.
