Sarah McLachlan Performs Emotional Ballad ‘Better Broken’ on Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Live!’ Comeback

Sarah McLachlan was the musical guest on Tuesday night’s (Sept. 23) very special episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The late-night talk show returned to the airwaves a week after ABC pulled the plug following criticism of Kimmel’s comments on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk from the leader of the Federal Communications Commission and Donald Trump.

McLachlan performed “Better Broken,” the title track from the three-time Grammy Award-winning Canadian artist’s first studio album in more than a decade. Seated at a grand piano with dramatic mood lighting giving the set an ethereal glow, McLachlan sang, “Maybe if I catch my breath/ Maybe if I wait a little/ I’d remember how it hurts/ And stop before I fall/ I’d forget to come apart/ And catch myself and hold on tightly.”

The emotional ballad about accepting romantic heartbreak in which she pledges to “forgive, but not forget,” was pitch perfect for an emotional evening in which Kimmel was frequently near tears during his monologue, in which he described his tumultuous week and the fall-out from his Kirk jokes.

McLachlan — who is doing the promo rounds for her equally moving ABC News doc Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery — was also a fitting choice because over the weekend the singer appeared to make a gesture of solidarity with Kimmel by refusing to perform at the doc’s premiere. “I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with,” she said in a statement at the premiere. “The stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech.”

“So happy that Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air and even happier to be performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live TONIGHT!,” McLachlan wrote in a social post before her appearance.  

Due out Friday, Sept. 19 through Concord Records, Better Broken has been described as “a soul-searching reflection on the fortitude that comes from weathering life’s constant storms.”

The album was primarily recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. The Halifax native enlisted help from esteemed musicians including drummer Matt Chamberlain (Bob Dylan, David Bowie) and pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Kacey Musgraves, Florence + the Machine) and expanded her creative circle by collaborating with producers Tony Berg and Will Maclellan, both known for their work with the indie pop super-trio boygenius.

Watch McLachlan’s “Better Broken” performance below.