Tina Turner’s extraordinary legacy was honored with an eye-popping showcase at the 2024 Grammy Awards — first with some heartfelt words from her friend Oprah Winfrey, and then with a show-stopping performance of “Proud Mary” by Fantasia Barrino.
To conclude the multi-performance In Memoriam segment at the Grammys, Winfrey took the stage to discuss the personal impact that Turner, who passed away last May at the age of 83, had on her after being a longtime fan, and how Turner’s legacy will continue to stand tall in popular music. “Tina’s voice continues to speak to all of us,” Winfrey told the arena crowd, before ceding the stage to multi-instrumentalist Adam Blackstone and Barrino.
As a vocal powerhouse and consummate performer, Barrino took on the unenviable task of trying to replicate Turner’s onstage verve with aplomb, getting the crowd at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to get up and move on Sunday night (Feb. 4). After beginning the performance onstage, Barrino strolled into the crowd as the tempo quickened, getting Dua Lipa to shake her hips before moving onto Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s table and settling onto a platform at the center of the arena. Instead of ending the In Memoriam segment on a somber note, Barrino dazzled the audience, and gave the telecast a soaring high.
A former American Idol champion, Barrino recently starred in The Color Purple, and won best female R&B vocal performance in 2011. The In Memoriam segment also included performances by Jon Batiste and Annie Lennox, among others.
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