The artists performing on Global Citizen’s “Together at Home” concert reached far and wide for thematically appropriate songs to sing, ranging from Stevie Wonder singing the late Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” as a medley with “Love’s in Need of Love Today” to Lizzo singing Sam Cooke’s classic “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Taylor Swift didn’t need to look any farther than her own latest album, “Lover,” for the song “Soon You’ll Get Better,” which was written for her mother, Andrea — who has been battling cancer for several years — but certainly applies to countless people praying for the recovery of loved ones affected by the coronavirus pandemic that the show is working to rally relief for.
Swift performed the song alone at the piano, seeming to mist up at times while singing.
Late last year, she spoke with Variety about her mom’s illness. “Everyone loves their mom; everyone’s got an important mom,” she said. “But for me, she’s really the guiding force. Almost every decision I make, I talk to her about it first. So obviously it was a really big deal to ever speak about her illness.”
During the filming of her recent documentary, “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana,” Andrea’s cancer returned for a second time. “She was going through chemo, and that’s a hard enough thing for a person to go through,” Swift said. “And while she was going through treatment, they found a brain tumor. And the symptoms of what a person goes through when they have a brain tumor is nothing like what we’ve ever been through with her cancer before. So it’s just been a really hard time for us as a family.”
While “Together at Home” is not a traditional fundraising event, the Global Citizen website identifies several ways viewers can get involved. Its “Take Action” site includes multiple ways people can make their voices heard and donate money.