On the same day as the horrific shooting deaths of two journalists in Virginia, Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker dedicated "Amazing Grace" to Charleston, South Carolina, his hometown that suffered through a mass church shooting in June.
Rucker performed an a cappella rendition of "Amazing Grace" and delivered heartfelt words to Charleston residents at his beachside taping for CMT's Instant Jam.
"We went through a lot of crap recently -- the tragedy broke my heart," Rucker, 49, said. "The greatest feeling I've had in a long time is when that played out and our city didn't divide. We said this is us. We said to that guy ... 'You wanted to mess with our city and instead you brought us together.'"
"We realized how much we love each other, that someone who is not like me is there, and we still love them," he added. "This song goes out to our city."
The performance turned into a massive sing-along.
Crowd sings Amazing Grace in honor of #Emanuelnine #hootiepopup @dariusrucker @WCBD pic.twitter.com/KH6HBX9TWp— Brittney Figueira (@BrittFigueira) August 27, 2015
Previously, President Barack Obama sang "Amazing Grace" during a eulogy in Charleston on June 26, just days after the June 17 shooting that left nine people dead after a gunman opened fire during a prayer service.
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Rucker's full version of "Amazing Grace" will air on Sept. 5 on CMT at 10 p.m. ET.
During Wednesday's taping, Rucker also covered Blackstreet's 1996 hit "No Diggity."