Listen to the heartwarming voicemail Taylor Hawkins left for Miley Cyrus urging her to cover Def Leppard's Photograph

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Miley was one of the stars of the show at this week's Taylor Hawkins tribute show - and it turns out the man himself was behind her decision to sing the Def Leppard classic

Miley Cyrus and Taylor Hawkins
(Image credit: Getty)

By far the biggest talking point in rock music this week has been the incredible Taylor Hawkins tribute show that took place at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, September 27.

The show - the second of two Hawkins tribute concerts following the similarly epic Wembley event earlier this month - saw a host of rock, pop and heavy metal icons come together to play many of Hawkins' favourite songs (as well as songs he himself had played on over the years). 

As well as stirring sets involving members of Queen, Rush, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age and many more, one of the evening's highlights was when pop megastar Miley Cyrus got up on stage with members of both Def Leppard and Foo Fighters to sing classic Def Lep anthem, Photograph, taken from classic 1983 album Pyromania.

Now, via a social media post shared yesterday by Cyrus, it's been revealed that the Foos drummer himself was the first person to suggest that the singer should cover Photograph one day, courtesy of a voicemail he sent her some years back that Cyrus has posted alongside her message.

"A personal request from the legend himself," states Cyrus on Twitter. "#TaylorHawkins my friend, my idol…. My neighbor. Growing up on a farm I never could see the light of another house nearby, but living by Taylor for the years that I did out in LA were some of the most fun times of my life."

"I miss Taylor so much like everybody else," she continues. "It was such an honor to celebrate him last night and perform w[ith] Def Leppard. So lucky to have known him not just as a superstar but to have spent time watching him just be a dad and a husband! Last night was the most special way to remember the MOST special person! Foo Fighters forever."

In the short but heartwarming voice message, Hawkins, who passed away earlier this year aged 50, can be heard lamenting the fact that Cyrus is moving house (the two had lived near each other in LA), before adding that he's listening to Photograph and thinks Cyrus could "kill" a cover of the song.

Listen to the message below. 

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.