See Home Footage of Toni + Chris Cornell Posted for Her 17th Birthday
Today (Sept. 21) marks the 17th birthday of Chris and Vicky Cornell's daughter Toni Cornell, and to mark the occasion two new social media posts have gone up celebrating the special day and showcasing a bit of Toni's family life and how music played a role in her life since birth, as passed down from her father.
On Chris Cornell's Instagram account, a video compilation primarily focuses on the late singer and his daughter at various stages in her life. You see Chris Cornell with a guitar serenading his infant daughter with "You Are My Sunshine," later joining a very young Toni as she sings along while he plays Rihanna and Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie," and later Toni joining Chris Cornell onstage back in 2015 to perform Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" when she was just 11.
A second video compilation was posted by Toni's mother Vicky Cornell, soundtracked by the father-daughter version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" that they did prior to Chris' death. The compilation not only features Toni and Chris onstage together in 2015, but also her Good Morning America performance with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" after the death's of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington in 2017.
Vicky added a note with her video compilation posting, stating, "Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl. Daddy and I love you so much! We’re so proud of the young woman you are becoming. You are my baby girl always… and my best friend. You have helped lift me and support me and helped me through these 4 years through all the heart ache you have been my rock, my reason. The best daughter anyone could ask for, the kindest human and the best big sister. I’m in awe of your strength, resilience, compassion and dedication. You have the biggest heart – we love you so much my baby Toni," with a heart emoji and the hashtags #17, #letyourheartkeeptime and #cornellforever" added. Watch the full video below.
In the years since Toni first caught the ears of many by appearing with her father onstage, she's delivered a number of other performances that have captured attention. The "Nothing Compares 2 U" duet with Chris Cornell went up on Father's Day 2018. A new song called "Far Away Places" that was produced by Chris Cornell followed in 2019. She also performed a cover of Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike" for a MusiCares benefit in 2020 as well as on the song's 30th anniversary earlier this year. Plus she also covered Pearl Jam's "Black" for the Lollapalooza 2020 livestream.
Happy 17th birthday Toni Cornell!