LISTEN: ‘Glee’ Cast Releases Posthumous Naya Rivera Track ‘Prayer For The Broken’

The members of Glee released a special surprise for their fans. On Dec. 1, the cast reunited to add vocals to “Prayer For The Broken,” an unreleased track by the late actress and singer Naya Rivera. For the next two weeks, the track’s proceeds will be donated to Alexandria House. This organization provides safe and supportive housing for women and children who are dealing with homelessness and trauma.

“When our friend and former co-worker/castmate Naya Rivera passed away, we wanted to do something to honor her, [and] put out something positive from such a horrible, horrible event,” Glee castmember Kevin McHale said in an interview about the annual fundraiser. “And so for the past three years, we’ve done Snixxmas, which is a charity fundraiser for L.A.’s local Alexandria House, which is a charity that Naya supported.”

This year, they were able to record on top of Rivera’s vocals to deliver a special treat for their loyal fans. “We got permission to release an unheard and unreleased song that Naya recorded back in 2012 called ‘Prayer For The Broken,” McHale said. 

Per Variety, the new track features Rivera’s vocals along with those of McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, Heather Morris, Vanessa Lengies, and Ashley Fink. Unlike most Glee covers, “Prayer For The Broken” appears to be an original song written by Lindy Robbins and Isaac Hasson.

“It’s just a really special song now that we’ll have, and that more importantly, the fans will have, to be able to hear her voice again,” castmate Ushkowitz told E! News.

Fans are emotional about the new song. An X user wrote: “chills…literal chills 😭 It’s been so long since I have listened to her voice because this still hurts so much 💔 #nayarivera.” Another X user echoed the same sentiment: “they put out an unreleased naya rivera song with background vocals from the glee cast…oh my god I’m a mess.” 

Rivera was 33 years old when she passed away in July 2020 after drowning in Lake Piru in Ventura County, CA. In 2022, her family settled a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming that there should’ve been more warning of the lake’s dangers and overall more safety equipment. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the actress’ son, Josey Dorsey. 

Listen to “Pray For The Broken” below.