Obama Gives Oscar Winner Big Honor After Horrific Death
The former president said his and Michelle’s “hearts go out” to the musician’s family.
Barack Obama listed the late Glen Hansard’s Song of Good Hope first on his annual summer playlist.
Obama's 2026 summer playlist.
Instagram/@barackobama
Hansard, the Oscar-winning Irish musician known for co-writing and performing the song Falling Slowly in the quiet romance Once, died this week at 56 in a motorcycle crash in Dublin.
Barack Obama said he and Michelle Obama were sending their best wishes to Hansard’s family.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/via REUTERS
“Here are some of the songs I’ve been listening to this summer,” Obama wrote on his social media platforms underneath photos of the list. “It starts with a song Michelle and I love by Glen Hansard, a great musician who passed tragically this week. Our hearts go out to his family.”
Glen Hansard died this week at 56.
Jordi Vidal/Redferns
“Song of Good Hope” is from Hansard’s 2012 debut solo album, Rhythm And Repose. Obama’s summer playlist is an 11-year tradition for the former U.S. president. This year’s list included hits from Nina Simone, Raye, The Strokes, and more.
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