When it comes time to salute musical legends, the only logical answer is to bring together the music industry's greatest vocalists. Of course, this process usually comes with some argument. When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, debates on who was even qualified to sing tribute for the late great circled. George Michael's death in 2016 brought Adele to the Grammys stage. And after Prince's death, there was quite a bit of disappointment and criticism after Madonna was chosen to pay tribute to the legendary artist at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.
But what about giving flowers to living legends? An added pressure comes when the artist being given a tribute is sitting front row, free to judge. That pressure seemingly disappeared with Fantasia Barrino. The singer performed a tribute to Pattie LaBelle at the 2016 BET Honors, with a performance of LaBelle's 1977 song "You Are My Friend." And that wasn't Barrino's first time singing in honor of LaBelle. In 2008, at the UNCF 30th Anniversary of the Stars: A Tribute to Patti Labelle, Barrino sang LaBelle's 1974 hit "Lady Marmalade." At the end of the tribute, Barrino ad-libbed an "I love you Patti."
Did LaBelle like it? We can assume she did. The legendary singer has cited Barrino as one of her favorite singers, saying she and Jennifer Hudson can "sing sing," per The Hollywood Reporter.
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