Lady Antebellum Harmonizes With ‘What I’m Leaving For’ on ‘One World’ Special

The three members of Lady Antebellum might be quarantined in their respective homes, but that didn’t stop the group from coming together to perform their current single, “What I’m Leaving For,” during One World: Together at Home on Saturday, April 18. The group performed during the broadcast’s six-hour live stream pre-show along with artists like Maren Morris, Jennifer Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Jessie J, Ellie Goulding and more.

“It’s Lady Antebellum here, and we just want to take a moment to say thank you and our deepest, deepest gratitude to all of the essential workers right now,” group member Hillary Scott said before the band’s performance. “Our ICU doctors, our nurses, our first responders, our grocery clerks who are making sure that we get the necessities and the sustenance that we need to get through this. Your tireless and selfless work right now means so, so much and we want to dedicate this song to you.”

“Thank you guys so much,” added Charles Kelley, while Dave Haywood chimed in, “Love y’all.” The group performed with just Haywood’s keyboard to back them, Kelley and Scott singing from their respective homes in Florida and Haywood from his house in Nashville. The simple arrangement spotlighted the trio’s harmonies and the message of the song, which is about how hard it can be to leave the people you love.

“What I’m Leaving For” is from Lady Antebellum’s 2019 album Ocean, and the band shared at an event in Nashville earlier this year that they knew it had to be a single once they saw how their friends and fans were responding to it.

“It’s got that warmth,” Scott said. “We always pay attention to social media and what was on Instagram and when we released the album, I saw a lot of people hashtagging that song, and I even saw a family, they were going on a road trip or something. But that song was really speaking to the mom and the dad was driving, and she was in the passenger seat, and they just the song on and they were filming on their way to a family vacation or a weekend away or something. And it was just so neat to see other people put their story, when they relate to it so much that they’re putting their life, it becomes the soundtrack of their life. It goes so far beyond just the music. It’s their memories.”

Saturday’s special wasn’t the first time Lady Antebellum has virtually performed during the coronavirus pandemic — the group honored Kenny Rogers with “Islands in the Stream” during this month’s CMT Giants special and the trio filmed the music video for their Songland-winning song, “Champagne Night,” at their homes.