The Associated Press
Monday, Nov. 5, 2001; 2:18 p.m. EST

LOS ANGELES –– She didn't show up to collect her Emmy, but when it came time to close the award show with an emotional rendering of "You'll Never Walk Alone," famously stage-shy Barbra Streisand was there.

"This is just my little way of doing something because I don't enjoy public singing," Streisand said afterward. "Tonight actually had a purpose, so I was a little less afraid."

"I'm just grateful we live in a country where we're allowed to sing and have music and express ourselves and our emotions," she said. "It's a very sad time in our history, a frightening time, and I wanted to give something back to the people and our country."

Earlier in the show, Streisand won an Emmy for "Timeless," her Fox concert special.

Holding her award backstage, the 59-year-old said she spends much of her time at home these days with her husband, James Brolin.

"I think we have come to a different kind of consciousness," she said. "That we really take the time to smell the flowers and treat each other a little more respectfully and feel the power of love. The power of love is stronger than death."