From one Queen to another.
Beyoncé honored the late Tina Turner, who died last week at the age of 83, with an emotional performance of “River Deep, Mountain High” at her “Renaissance” world tour stop in London on Monday.
According to one video, the “Cuff It” singer sang the words of her 1996 hit at a slower pace while standing in front of a sold-out crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Shared by a Beyoncé fan account on Twitter.
For the special performance, Beyoncé also sported a new look by donning a bulging electric blue jumpsuit with a tulle tail at the waist.
The 32-time Grammy winner told the audience to “yell like that” a few days after honoring the “Proud Mary” singer during her tour in Paris. [Turner] can feel your love.”
“If you’re a fan of mine, you’re a fan of Tina Turner,” he continued. “Because I wouldn’t be on this stage if it wasn’t for Tina Turner.”
“I feel so blessed to be alive to witness his brilliance. I also feel very lucky to be here to perform once again.”
Turner died of natural causes on May 24. He was 83 years old.
Its rep had previously revealed that Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll was battling a “long-standing illness” but did not reveal any further details.
Following the news of Tina’s death, fans criticized Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z for “teasing” her previous history of physical abuse from the late singer’s ex-husband, Ike Turner.
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On Carters’ 2013 hit “Drunk In Love,” Jay-Z raps, “Beat the box like Mike in ’97, I bite / I’m Ike Turner, turn it up baby, no, I’m not playing / Baby, no, I’m not playing, now the cake Eat, Anna Mae / Eat the cake, said Anna Mae!
The word cake reportedly refers to a dispute Ike once had with Tina, whose birth name was Anna Mae Bullock, over a pastry.
“It’s crazy that Beyoncé put in a Tina Turner post/praise when she literally sings ‘Eat the cake Anna Mae’ in one of her greatest songs,” tweeted one critic.
“Knowing that Tina Turner was Beyoncé’s plan and one of her biggest influences makes the ‘Eat The Cake Anna Mae’ line from Drunk In Love even more jarring,” added another.
To see where Jay Z got the reference to ‘eat the cake, Anna Mae’ all you have to do is watch the movie ‘What Love Must Do’ and it will make you sick to your stomach. Beyoncé was complicit as she was in EVERY song,” wrote the third.
A month after Beyoncé aired “Drunk in Love,” a British radio station refused to play the unedited version of the song. Jennifer Ogole, CEO of Bang Radio, removed the “4:44” rapper’s line “Anna Mae” because rap “encourages domestic violence against women”.
When Tina was asked about the song, she told the New York Times in 2019 she was “not surprised”.