Queen Latifah, Dionne Warwick and the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb have been awarded at the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors. Check out the footage below.
The annual honours are given to figures in the performing arts for their lifetime contribution to American culture, and were held earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
With President Biden in attendance, the show was hosted by Gloria Estefan, and featured tribute performances from artists including Gladys Knight, Missy Elliott and Michael Bublé.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9ijrmonplU
Rapsody played a version of Latifah’s ‘Just Another Day’, while Monie Love and MC Lyte duetted on ‘Ladies First’. Elliott introduced her, saying: “What Latifah has taught us is unity, to believe in yourself, and to love a Black woman from infinity to infinity.”
Three of Warwick’s songs were performed at the ceremony, with Chloe Bailey singing ‘Walk On By’, Cynthia Erivo taking ‘Alfie’ and Knight doing a rendition of ‘Say a Little Prayer’.
Bublé sang the Bee Gees song ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?’ for Gibb, while Little Big Town played ‘Lonely Days, Lonely Nights’ and Ariana DeBose did a medley of hits, including ‘Stayin Alive’ and ‘How Deep is Your Love’.
Footage from the ceremony has now been shared by the Kennedy Center, where the actor and comedian Billy Crystal and the opera singer Renée Fleming were also honoured.
After receiving news of her honour, Latifah said in a statement: “When we started on this journey decades ago, we were often told ‘No’.”
“To now be recognised amongst so many multi-hyphenates feels unbelievable, not for just me and my team, but for our community.”
Gibb also said that receiving the award “is something that everyone hopes might happen one day”. “I’ve often thought about it but never dreamed it could come true,” he added.
In September, Warwick called out “young man” Elon Musk about the unpopular changes that he has made to Twitter/X since taking over the social media platform.
Recently, a woman claimed she had been scammed out of her retirement money by someone impersonating Barry Gibb.