Country star Keith Urban stepped in for Bryan Adams at tonight’s (Oct. 30) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Adams was set to perform in a medley of songs with Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton, H.E.R. honoring inductee Tina Turner — recreating his duet of “It’s only Love” (from his 1984 album, “Reckless”) with H.E.R. — but had to pull out of the ceremony last-minute due to a positive COVID-19 test, sources tell PvNew.
The Canadian rocker was tested in advance of arriving in Cleveland for the festivities. All participants in the Rock Hall ceremony were required to show a negative COVID test regardless of vaccination status. A rep for Adams confirms the positive test and tells PvNew that Adams is fully vaccinated and showing no symptoms.
Urban took the stage at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to handle vocals and guitar for the collaboration, which H.E.R. revealed earlier during an interview on SiriusXM’s Volume they had only first rehearsed the day prior. Angela Bassett, who portrayed Turner in the 1993 film “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (and received an Oscar nomination for the role) was on hand to induct the icon into the Hall for a second time as a solo artist.
For the Rock Hall performance, Aguilera sang “River Deep, Mountain High” and Guyton tackled “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
Speaking to SiriusXM’s Volume backstage, Urban said he got the call to sub for Adams on Thursday morning and that he only had three run-throughs with H.E.R.
“It’s only Love” was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal and the accompanying video won an MTV Video Music Award for best stage performance. It was released as a single 37 years ago on Oct. 21, 1985. The song hit No. 15 on the Billboard top 20 and No. 7 on the mainstream rock charts. A live version of the song was included on Tina Turner’s 1988 album, Live in Europe.
In a 1992 interview with the Morning Call, Adams said the song happened after he received a call from Turner’s producer, John S. Carter, asking for a song for her album, 1984’s “Private Dancer.”
“It transpired by me calling her (and) asking if she wanted to do the song. She wanted me to play on her “Private Dancer” album and I was making “Reckless” and couldn’t get away,” he said. “I thought maybe I could reciprocate by having her sing on “It’s only Love.”
Adams’ friendship with Turner continued after that, with him producing her Grammy Award-winning song, “Back Where You Started” and working with her on the song “Why Must We Wait Until Tonight” from the movie “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” A noted photographer, Adams also captured the icon in images.
For the Rock Hall performance, Aguilera sang “River Deep, Mountain High” and Guyton tackled “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
