Sarah McLachlan Almost Featured on a Silverstein Song

The band ended up getting Lights for their 2009 track "The End"

Photo: Chris Bubinas

BY Allie GregoryPublished Apr 26, 2020

Silverstein's lead vocalist has shared a funny tidbit about the time the band almost got Canadian icon Sarah McLachlan to feature on one of their songs.

In a new interview with The Hard Times, Silverstein's Shane Told revealed the time they nearly nabbed McLachlan as a guest vocalist on their track, "The End," from their 2009 record A Shipwreck in the Sand, and were mildly disappointed — but not surprised — when it didn't work out.

"Our manager at the time was with Nettwerk, that management company, and he wanted to get Sarah McLachlan to do the part which would have been epic," Told explained. "I think Sarah McLachlan is great, but I just don't see this really working in terms of the story, you know, in terms of the like vibe of the song."

In the end, the band ended up getting Lights to lay down the female vocals on the album closer, after Told's chance encounter with her music while working out.

"I was at the gym late one night during the recording process, and I heard Lights on in the gym, which at the time was kind of strange because she was still a small artist," he said. "I heard that song 'February Air,' and I literally was like, 'Oh my god, maybe we could get her. That would be rad.'"

We can only imagine what Canadian crossover magic could've come had McLachlan made the cut, but the Lights version is pretty great too.

Revisit the 2009 track featuring Lights below.

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