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Soundgarden's Chris Cornell 'hanged himself' in a Detroit hotel bathroom after ending his final gig with a song about death on Wednesday.

A medical examiner confirmed that the 52-year-old rocker, who was found dead on his bathroom floor with 'a band around his neck', had committed suicide.

Chris's wife Vicky says he showed no signs he was feeling suicidal or even depressed when she spoke to him, before during soundcheck before, and after his final show on Wednesday night, sources told TMZ. 

But when she tried reaching him again that evening, she became concerned he wasn't answering his phone and called a family friend to check on him, according to channel 4 WDIV Detroit.

That friend had to force his way into Cornell's hotel room, in Detroit's MGM Grand, where they found him dead. The singer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just hours earlier, Cornell had been performing a sold out concert at the FOX theater in Detroit. 

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Sad: Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, 52,'hanged himself' in his Detroit hotel room, a medical examiner said (Cornell pictured in 2009)

Cornell ended his final gig (pictured) with a performance of In My Time Of Dying and shared dark Facebook posts just hours before his 'suicide' 

Cornell shared dark Facebook posts just hours before he was found hanged 

Detroit police said the death had been investigated as a possible suicide from the very start, after cops noted some 'basic things observed at the scene,' spokesman Michael Woody said.

A medical examiner confirmed that Cornell 'hanged himself' after an autopsy, although a full report - which will include toxicology results - has not yet been completed.

Hours before his death, Cornell posted a link to his band's performance of By Crooked Steps, with the lyrics 'I'm the shape of the hole inside your heart.'

The song which also features the lyrics, 'not looking for a brighter side... I don't care if you want to cry' was unusually dark for Soundgarden with drummer Matt Cameron once remarking on how it was such a 'serious' song.

Lyrics also include 'I'm a ghost and a healer' and 'When blood is raining down, it cuts a deep deep river, ' it continues. 

He also chose a dark song about to end his gig with on Wednesday.

Devastated fans have shared the band's setlist online, writing that the final song of the night was their song, Slaves And Bulldozers.

Devastated: His representative, Brian Bumbery called the death 'sudden and unexpected' and said his wife and family were shocked by it - pictured just hours before

Shock: Chris was reportedly found dead in the bathroom of his hotel room at the MGM Grand in Detroit by a friend (stock picture)

But according to The Sun, the band had added a portion of the Led Zeppelin song, In My Time Of Dying halfway through.

The lyrics are: 'In my time of dying, I want nobody to mourn. All I want for you to do is take my body home. Well, well, well, so I can die easy.'

Despite his morbid choice of song, Cornell did not seem suicidal at the Detroit gig, and even talked about his show during the event, video obtained by TMZ of the concert shows.

Shortly before the ban's encore, the singer praised the Detroit crowd, joking: 'I feel a little bit sorry for the next f***ing place we play.'

Cornell, who seemed in a jovial, happy mood, said that he would have to fans at his next gig, headlining festival Rock on the Range on Friday in Columbus, Ohio, that they 'should have been at that Detroit show. That crowd was something.' 

He was also due to headline Pointfest festival on Saturday in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Pointfest has since been cancelled in the wake of his death, although Rock on the Range will continue with a new headliner.

Cornell's representative, Brian Bumbery, called Chris's passing 'sudden and unexpected' and said his wife and family were shocked by it.

The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy. 

According to the site, Chris was staying at the MGM Grand in Detroit, when he passed away. 

The news comes just eight hours after he posted his last message on Twitter, which read: '#Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebull****.'

Chris, who famously sang the song, You Know My Name, for James Bond movie Casino Royale, was married to Vicky Karayiannis for 13 years, and they are parents to Toni, 12 and Christopher, 11. 

Sharing: Fans of the rocker took to social media to post pictures of the gig, without a sense that anything was wrong

The band: Musicians Chris, Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden at the Los Angeles premiere of Marvel's Avengers at the El Capitan Theatre on April 11, 2012

His love: Audioslave band mates (L-R) Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, Chris and Tim Commerford posed for a photo backstage after performing at Teragram Ballroom during the Anti-Inaugural Ball on January 20, 2017 in Los Angeles

The Grammy award-winning, Golden Globe nominated singer also started the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support children facing poverty and abuse.

He told Details magazine in 2012: 'When I met my wife Vicky's family, I had to go out of my way to convince them - to show them - that I wasn't anything like their idea of a musician.'

As for letting his own children date a rock star, Chris told Details: 'I've met many, many musicians that I wouldn't let anywhere near my daughter. Or my son.' 

Cornell was previously married to Susan Silver, with which he fathered daughter Lillian Jean, 17.

Susan was manager of both Alice In Chains and Soundgarden - but they divorced shortly before he married Vicky. 

His love: Chris, who famously sang the song, You Know My Name, for James Bond movie Casino Royale, was married to wife of 13 years, Vicky Karayiannis (pictured in April 2012)

Sweet: They are parents to Toni, 12 and Christopher, 11 - pictured with his family in 2010

The family also all attended the New York screening of The Promise at the Paris Theatre on April 18 this year (left) and Into the Woods in 2014 (right)

Sweet: Chris shared this picture on Twitter just four days ago as he posted a sweet mother's day message to his wife Vicky

Touching: He also posted a poignant message to his own mother on the day

He was part of the same Seattle grunge rock music scene as Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, and in 2015, footage emerged of Cobain doing an impression of him. 

He told Shaun Keaveny during an interview with BBC Radio 6 in 2012 that having the Nirvana and Pearl Jam as friends when Soundgarden were making it big really helped him.

He said: 'It was an exciting time. We had people we could talk to about this insane experience. It was happening to a few of us. People we had known for a long time.

'It was all new to us. We didn't know what to make of it. It helped to have some friends going through the same craziness.' 

Many of the great grunge icons from that 90s scene have since died from drugs overdose or, in the case of Cobain, a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In a bizarre twist, the death of Cornell has seen Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder become a trending topic on Twitter as fans rally to protect one of the last big grunge names. 

Cornell has been living a low key life with his family in Miami Beach (pictured is their home in South Point Drive)

Cornell lived at the $10 million Miami condo (pictured)  where locals said he went largely unrecognized 

The rocker paid around $30,000 in rent each month to live on the 21st floor of the upscale Continuum Tower (pictured) in the heart of nightlife hotspot South Beach

His landlord he never had any complaints about music or partying coming from the four-bed, 3,000 sq ft apartment where Cornell, his wife Vicky Karayiannis and their two kids, Toni and Christopher, enjoyed breathtaking views of the Atlantic (pictured) 

The apartment, which came in luxury finishes, was home to the family of four for six years

In 2001, Cornell joined members of Rage Against The Machine to form Audioslave, which earned acclaim with its self-titled album that earned three-platinum status.

Cornell also had an extensive solo career as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer and lyricist and worked with various other musicians over three decades in the music business.

He continued: 'We didn't have anything close to overnight success but it was still crazy. It was very comic book like. Surreal. 

'It seemed to come out of nowhere and was not something we could have expected.' 

Since news of Cornell's death broke, scores of fellow musicians, actors and celebrities have taken to social media to mourn the inspirational singer. 

Elton John, Carson Daly, Billy Idol and Jimmy Page all expressed their condolences about the loss of the talented singer and 'unbelievably nice man.'

Actor Val Kilmer even shared a story about how Cornell would turn up at his parties and have women falling at his feet. 

Iconic: Chris was part of the same Seattle grunge rock music scene as Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, and in 2015, footage emerged of Cobain doing an impression of him (pictured)

Fellow musicians and celebrities, such as Jimmy Page, have paid tribute to Cornell 

TV host Carson Daily also paid tribute to the 'quintessential voice of a generation' 

Many celebrities and singers, including Sir Elton John, also commented on just how much of a nice guy Cornell was 

Fellow rocker Billy Idol tweeted his lamentations on the passing of another 'great singer'

Sebastian Bach, who was the lead singer of Skid Row, said Cornell's death had left him with tears in his eyes 

Mark Tremonti, lead guitarist of Creed, added that Cornell had been 'influential' to his own work

Scores of other singer and bands, many of whom were close to Cornell and his family, also posted their condolences

'Dear Chris Cornell used to come to my parties n Hollywood n play quietly in the corner until all the woman were literally at his feet listenin,' Kilmer wrote. 'He was such a great song writer and so humble about it. A real artist. And that voice...' he said.

Elton added: 'Shocked and saddened by the sudden death of @chriscornell. A great singer, songwriter and the loveliest man.'

While Daly wrote he was 'so shocked to wake up and hear about the sudden passing of Chris Cornell. A quintessential voice of a generation. Praying for his family.' 

Meanwhile, Cornell faced his own share of personal demons before becoming a clean-living family man.

He said: 'When I transitioned into adulthood - high-stakes emotional responsibilities - I did everything I could get my hands on. It happened without me really noticing it,' he confessed.

'The thing is, when you pick up the pipe for the first time, you don't know that that's your fate. The moment isn't that dramatic. And then that was it - I didn't want to care anymore.' 

Tragedy: A statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy

The final tweet: News of Chris' death comes just eight hours after he posted his last message on Twitter, which read: '#Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebull****'

Upsetting: Social media was flooded with posts from devastated fans soon after the sad news

Cornell had spent the last six years living at a $10 million Miami condo where locals said he went largely unrecognized and enjoyed a low-key life by the ocean.

The rocker paid around $30,000 in rent each month to live on the 21st floor of the upscale Continuum Tower in the heart of nightlife hotspot South Beach.

However landlord Peter Afrood said he never had any complaints about music or partying coming from the four-bed, 3,000 sq ft apartment where Cornell, his wife Vicky Karayiannis and their two kids, Toni and Christopher, enjoyed breathtaking views of the Atlantic and luxury amenities. 

'I would always see them at the restaurant down there. He really just seemed like a quiet, family man who enjoyed spending times with his wife and kids. He typically looked very happy,' Afrood told DailyMail.com.

'I'd like to respect his privacy, but here was no suggestions of any problems at the property. 

'He was obviously a huge rock star and at some point he would have lived that sort of life but it really seemed like he had sort of graduated from that. 'At the same time music was his life, he was still recording and paying. I'm a big fan of this, so it was very sad to hear what had happend from the perspective of a fan as well as a landlord.' 

Good friends: Chris shared this picture of himself with Sting and Brad Pitt following the Rock4EB concert in January 

Doing what he did best: Chris performing on stage at FOX theatre on May 3 in Atlanta, Georgia

Performer: He was also pictured performing during the Prophets Of Rage And Friends' Anti-Inaugural Ball at Teragram Ballroom on January 20, 2017 in LA

Homes at Continuum complex, regarded as one of Miami's most exclusive addresses, have previously sold for up to $25 million.

'It's a pretty high-profile building and everyone's privacy is pretty well respected there,' Afrood added. 'He didn't really make himself known to people but obviously he was known through the music. 'I never took really the opportunity to talk to him about music but at this point I really wish I had.'

Soundgarden split in 1997 and reunited in 2010, their last record was King Animal in 2012. 

When Soundgarden reformed, he said the only real change was the lack of booze on the tour bus after he went tee-total.

He said: 'The biggest difference I noticed... and we haven't even really talked about it: There are no bottles of Jack Daniels around or beers. And we never talked about.. it's just not there.' 

The band – also comprised of Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd – were due to continue their North American tour and travel to Columbus, Ohio on Friday, with the run ending in Oklahoma on May 27.

During their 13-year hiatus, Cornell went through a dark period and was admitted to rehab for alcohol addiction.  

In 2012, Chris spoke about his struggle with addiction, saying at the time: 'It's something that would have happened even if Soundgarden had stayed together.

'It was a long slow slide and then a long slow recovery, but there was self-discovery too.

'For me it was mostly alcohol – from my late teens until my late thirties.' 

Since news of his death broke this morning, social media has been flooded with posts from devastated fans.

Posts read: 'Truly saddened to hear of the death of @Chris Cornell, beautiful man, beautiful voice, outstanding music RIP #chriscornell #rip #legend.' 

'Actually gutted hearing about Chris Cornell passing. Soundgarden records shaped so much of my youth. This is s***.' 

'Shocked to hear about Chris Cornell. Way too young.'

'Gutted to hear about Chris Cornell dying. 1 of the finest ever hard rock voices and great albums with #soundgarden &#Audioslave #rip.'

'RIP Chris Cornell. Only recently got into Soundgarden - great voice, powerful music. Sad loss.'

'Really sad to hear the news about Chris Cornell. Another one gone to soon.' 

MailOnline has contacted Detroit Police for further information. 

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