LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Patti LaBelle gave a soul-stirring tribute to the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll Tina Turner during the 2023 BET Awards but the audience is not happy with it as the performance was laced with a few glitches. As the 79-year-old ‘On My Own’ singer took the stage at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles to sing Turner’s ‘The Best’ she forgot the lyrics.
As the ‘New Attitude’ singer couldn’t remember the words, she said to the audience, “I’m trying, y’all,” before singing with the chorus. This was not the end to her woe as LaBelle forgot the lyrics for the second time, to which she reacted with “Oh lord” before revealing the reason for her trouble. As she couldn’t see the words written on the teleprompter, she sang to the song’s tune, “Whatever, I can’t see the words” before repeating, “I’m trying, y’all.”
The septuagenarian lasted through the performance with her buoyant nature and steered clear through the glitchy rendition. She wrapped up the tribute by saying “God bless you, Tina Turner, BET, hip-hop!”
The crowd in the theater didn’t seem to mind the ‘If Only You Knew’ singer’s not knowing the lyrics and sang along with the Grammy-winning singer to make the tribute heartfelt. However, the netizens were not so forgiving as they condemned this carelessness on LaBelle’s part as “horrible” and marked it for the songstress’s “lack of practice.”
‘She was and is everything!’
After Tina Turner’s death at 83 on May 24, LaBelle announced the news of her paying tribute to her friend with a statement to Rolling Stone,"Tina was a trailblazer and someone I have a tremendous amount of respect for because of all that she overcame and all that she accomplished.” She added, "She was and is everything! And I am honored that I am able to pay tribute to her in this way."
'Sounded like a lack of practice!'
After Patti LaBelle's controversial performance, fans left no stone unturned to mock the singer's faux pas. One fan posted a GIF showing what could be Tina Turner's reaction in Heaven after watching the performance. They captioned it with, "Tina Turner in heaven right now after miss Patti LaBelle didn’t know her lyrics #BETAwards #BetAwards2023." Another fan posted a GIF to mock how LaBelle's ordeal went during the performance, "Patti LaBelle trying to get through this Tina Turner tribute #BETAwards." The third said, "BET been Ghetto all night but when Patti Labelle gets up and says she didn’t know the words and she singing the Tina Turner tribute….y’all wrong as hell… "
Another remarked pointedly, "Nah, this was horrible. Sounded like a lack of practice!" Another one branded the performance as downright "embarrassing." Someone else condemned LaBelle for her lack of practice and professionalism, "Awful..why didn't you practice..@PattiLabelleL.you are a pro..in this game..not new to this..the whole thing was a mess @BET was playing the backtrack too soon..Ms. Patti was off key..didn't know the words. It was a disappointment all around..awards show was not good. Downhill." Another disappointed fan suggested LaBelle not to accept every invite, "Don't accept every invite.. SMH..Tina RIP. ..don't turn over too much in your grave. Lawd."
Someone else wanted their memory of the tribute to be erased forever, "I want this Patti LaBelle Tina Turner tribute to be erased from my memory forever ever. #BetAwards2023." Another baffled fan questioned, "How is Patti Labelle giving a tribute to Tina Turner, but don’t know the words to the song? #BETAwards"
