Charlie Puth took a moment to remember everyone’s “friend” Matthew Perry following the actor’s death.
“I dedicate this song to another song, so if it makes you think of a person, that’s who it’s dedicated to,” Puth, 31, said during his concert at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday, October 29.
While seated behind a piano, Puth played the unmistakable opening cords to The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There for You,” best known as the theme song for Friends. The tribute came one day after Perry, 54, was found dead in his Los Angeles home.
The crowd in Melbourne instantly recognized the tune, according to fan footage taken of the event, and began to sing along – to the point that Puth let them take over. “So, no one told you life was gonna be this way/ Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s DOA,” the masses sang in tribute to the actor best known for his role of Chandler Bing on the ‘90s sitcom. The audience even delivered the song’s iconic claps.
Puth joined in on the chorus before sweetly transitioning the tune to “See You Again,” the 2015 collab with Wiz Khalifa from the Furious 7 soundtrack that served as a tribute to the late Paul Walker. Walker died in a single-vehicle collision in 2013 at age 40.
With this performance, Puth joined the chorus of celebrities mourning the loss of the beloved sitcom actor. Perry was reportedly found dead in a jacuzzi at his home on Saturday, October 28, after authorities responded to a call of a cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles coroner’s office confirmed Perry’s death a day later and noted that the case is currently “open,” with a full autopsy scheduled. His death is reportedly the subject of an ongoing investigation, and the initial autopsy results were inconclusive, pending a toxicology report.
Many stars publicly mourned Perry following his shocking and unexpected passing. “There is something, you feel so sad about it, especially because you don’t necessarily know what was going on,” said Adele during her Las Vegas concert. “He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with,” wrote Gwyneth Paltrow. “He will be missed by many and definitely by us. Yes. I could be more poetic or say things better but right now, shock and sadness prevail,” wrote Perry’s longtime friend Shannen Doherty.
Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the creators of Friends, issued a statement about their sorrow over Perry’s death. “It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives,” they said in a statement to Us Weekly, calling him a “brilliant talent” and that they will always “cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment.”
