Bursting onto the charts in the early 1990s, Soundgarden quickly established a niche in the booming grunge scene of the era.
Following the success of fellow Seattle bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden racked up a string of hits that included “Black Hole Sun,” “The Day I Tried to Live” and “Spoonman.”
The band broke up in 1997, with frontman Chris Cornell going on to a successful solo career, and then as lead singer of Audioslave. Soundgarden reformed in 2010. Sadly, that journey came to an end with Cornell’s tragic passing in 2017, aged 52.
A New Beginning with an Unlikely Singer
GettyNow, news is emerging that Soundgarden is reuniting for a special one-night-only performance with a new lead singer: former “Gossip Girl” star Taylor Momsen.
As Classic Rock reports, Soundgarden will perform at the halftime show for the Seattle Seahawks’ NFC West season opener against the New England Patriots at Seattle’s Lumen Field on September 9.
In addition to Momsen, the surviving members of Soundgarden will be joined by Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready for the performance.
A Long Connection
While the star of a beloved teen drama may seem an odd choice to front a legendary grunge band, Momsen and Soundgarden actually have a long relationship going back nearly a decade.
As Momsen’s fans know, the reason she exited the show was to focus on her music career, as frontwoman for rock band The Pretty Reckless.
The Pretty Reckless opened for Soundgarden during what proved to be the band’s final tour in 2017, and it was during that tour that she formed a tight connection with the band.
In fact, Momsen has performed with Soundgarden a few times since then. In 2019, she joined them for a tribute to Cornell at the Forum in Inglewood, California, where she sang lead on “Rusty Cage,” “Drawing Flies” and “Found Love.”
Three years later, she reunited with the band at the same venue for a tribute concert for late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, taking lead vocals on “Black Hole Sun.”
Last year, when Soundgarden was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Momsen once again joined the band for a raw and emotional performance of “Rusty Cage.”
A Huge Soundgarden Fan
In an interview for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Momsen declared herself a long-time fan of Soundgarden.
“I love Soundgarden more than anything in the world,” she said at the time, referencing their induction into the Hall of Fame.
“And getting to play with them anytime, especially tonight, honoring them and supporting them in any way I can, I feel like that’s what I’m meant to do,” she shared.
“Like, I love them and I have so much fun with them every time, and I’m so proud of them, and I’m so happy for them,” Momsen continued.
“Soundgarden is this kind of music, that it’s so deep and it’s so layered and so complicated and so musically exquisite when I’m singing those words,” she added.
“The layer of depth and what they mean, I feel it so much. Like, it’s so guttural. I really try to get inside the song,” she added.
