Sara Bareilles Credits Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert for Inspiring New Anthem on Grief

Singer Sara Bareilles reveals how a conversation between Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert inspired her unreleased song Home, helping her process deep personal loss.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 21, 2026, 5:48 AM EDT

Source: People

A Catalyst Found in Podcast Dialogue

The inspiration for "Home" stems from a specific episode of Cooper’s podcast where he and late night host Stephen Colbert discussed the enduring nature of grief. Bareilles, who was coping with the deaths of close friends Chad Joseph in 2020 and Broadway star Gavin Creel in 2024, found solace in their observation that sharing one’s story "warts and all" is what eventually brings a person back to a state of internal peace. The singer noted that she wrote the track to process the "well of grief, depression, and anxiety" she experienced following these consecutive losses to cancer.

Lyrical Reflection on Parental Loss and Identity

The lyrics of "Home" delve into Bareilles’s own history with tragedy, specifically the death of her father. In the song, she reflects on surpassing the age of 53—the age at which her father passed away—and the "hollow in a chest" left behind at the family dinner table. The composition challenges the instinct to avoid "hard questions" out of fear of pain, instead embracing the lesson that brokenness cannot heal until it is "known and loved by name." This thematic focus on ancestral grief resonated heavily with Cooper, who was visibly moved to tears during the live performance.

Collaborative Vulnerability in Media

The podcast appearance highlights a modern trend where high profile artists use non traditional media platforms to debut vulnerable work before a formal commercial release. Cooper, 58, admitted to being "embarrassed" by his emotional reaction but praised Bareilles for choosing his community to hear the song first. This interaction underscores the power of cross disciplinary inspiration, where a journalistic interview can provide the emotional scaffolding for a major musical work. For Bareilles, the act of "letting other people see us" through song remains a vital component of her artistic mission.