Chewbacca Mom is back! Candace Payne returned to Facebook Live on Saturday, July 9, to sing a beautiful rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World” in the wake of Thursday night’s shooting in Dallas, which left five police officers dead and seven wounded.
The 37-year-old viral star, whose infectious laugh and Chewbacca mask video caught the eyes of millions in May, explained on Saturday morning that she was at her home in Texas (just 30 minutes from Dallas) when the shooting occurred.
“I am thousands of miles, hundreds of miles away from really identifying with every single ounce of pain that I know is being felt by the whole world right now,” she told the camera. “I’ve been spreading joy and I’ve been hoping to do that, but I found myself over the last couple days being silent because I’ve been so sad and so hurt by what’s going on.”
After warning viewers that piano isn’t her first instrument, Payne prefaced her performance by explaining that she hopes the song “touches you and inspires you today to make a better place.”
“Heal the world / Make it a better place / For you and for me and the entire human race,” she sang. “There are people dying / If you care enough for the living / Make a better place for you and for me.” The video has been viewed more than 450,000 times since she shared it on Saturday.
“Heal the World” was originally released on the late King of Pop’s 1991 album, Dangerous, as a call to improve the lives of children around the globe.
After Payne’s Chewbacca mask video went viral, she made several TV appearances, including an interview on Good Morning America and a sketch with Star Wars director J.J. Abrams on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
