Lizzo fans in Arizona were treated to a special performance at her Phoenix, Arizona concert on Wednesday. Hours after the news broke that Tina Turner had died, the singer paid tribute to the performer.
“Today we lost an icon,” she said during her show, before the performance. “And I haven’t allowed myself to be sad. I haven’t allowed myself to cry about it. And I don’t want to right now because I’d much rather celebrate the incredible legend Tina Turner is and always will be. As a Black girl in a rock band, I would not exist if it was not for the queen of rock ‘n’ roll. Remember this: There would be no rock ‘n’ roll without Tina Turner.”
Lizzo then performed “Proud Mary,” which was originally performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969, then covered live by Ike and Tina Turner on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1970. A year later, the Turners released it as a single, and Tina continued to make it a centerpiece of her concerts until her last show in 2009.
Wearing a long sequin dress, Lizzo began the performance standing at the microphone but eventually ripped off her sequined skirt to reveal a bodysuit underneath. Backup dancers joined her on stage and the song — and crowd — got more energetic.
The performance was recorded and posted to TikTok by user @thechrissumlin:
@thechrissumlin Lizzo does a Tina Turner tribute at her concert in Arizona. #lizzo #lizzolive #tinaturner #thespecialtour ⬠original sound – Chris Sumlin
Tributes to Turner have been pouring in from other celebrities in other ways. Musicians Rod Stewart and Mick Jagger and former President Barack Obama honored her on social media.
“Tina Turner was raw. She was powerful. She was unstoppable. And she was unapologetically herself — speaking and singing her truth through joy and pain; triumph and tragedy,” Obama wrote on Twitter. “Today we join fans around the world in honoring the Queen of Rock and Roll, and a star whose light will never fade.”
Tina Turner was raw. She was powerful. She was unstoppable. And she was unapologetically herself—speaking and singing her truth through joy and pain; triumph and tragedy. Today we join fans around the world in honoring the Queen of Rock and Roll, and a star whose light will never… pic.twitter.com/qXl2quZz1c
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 24, 2023
Turner, who rose to fame in the 1960s, was well-known for hits like “Private Dancer” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” Her life story was made into a movie in 1993 and also taken to Broadway in “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical.” Just last year, she even had a Barbie made in her likeness.
Turner’s manager said she died at home after a long battle with an illness at the age of 83.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
