Candace Payne, the star of the viral "Chewbacca Mask Lady" Facebook video, is once again using her platform to inspire others, singing a cover of Michael Jackson's Heal the World in tribute to the dead and wounded police officers from Thursday night's shootings in Dallas.
In a Facebook post titled "Make the World a Better Place," the 37-year-old worship leader- who lives about 30 miles from Dallas in Grand Prairie - said: "I've been spreading joy, and I've been hoping to do that, but I found myself over the last couple days being silent because I've been so sad and so hurt by what's going on. ... I'm very nervous to just share this with you because it's so vulnerable, but I felt like someone needs to sing these lyrics again and sing them over our world and just be a good reminder."
She added, "I hope [the song] in some way touches you and inspires you today to make the world a better place."
Accompanying herself on the piano, Payne sings the 1991 hit, which includes the lines "There are people dying/If you care enough for the living/Make it a better place/For you and for me."
Since the posting Saturday, the video has garnered more than 1.9 million views, with thousands thanking Payne for her dedication to sharing hope and encouragement amid darkness and pain.
"How fitting Candace at the time this world needs to hear this!! Love you and Thank you for your tender heart and spreading joy all over this world and our family!" wrote Trish Watts.
"AMEN thanks for sharing these beautiful words & your gorgeous voice with us !!! God shines through you!" added Doris Dewese.
"Once again God's anointing is upon you. Love you sweet girl," wrote Diana Thompson.
Payne rose to fame in May after posting a wildly popular video of her hysterically laughing while wearing a toy Chewbacca mask. The video has gained nearly 160 million views on Facebook.
Since then, she has appeared on numerous talk shows and met "Star Wars" director J.J. Abrams and James Corden on the "Carpool" segment of "The Late Late Show." Her entire family received full scholarships to attend Florida's Southeastern University, and she attended the 2016 CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.
In every public appearance, Payne is quick to point to her Christian faith as the source of her joy and laughter, and often shares that she hopes to use her platform to glorify God.
"I have unashamedly said from day one that I'm a follower of Jesus Christ," she recently told Buzzfeed when asked about her obvious joy. "And I think sometimes we have painted a broad paintbrush on Christians to think that we're very narrow-minded, that we're bigoted, and that we're haters. But that's really not who we are, and I kind of apologize for anybody that's kind of painted us that way. But the truth is, my relationship with Jesus Christ has completely made me who I am, because He's told me who I am."
She added, "Once you know that you're a follower of God, and not just a god, but the God that created everything, your whole life changes. You don't have to impress anybody else because you got the one opinion that matters."
