Barrino performed Proud Mary — the very same song she auditioned with on American Idol 20 years ago.
While Miley Cyrus honored Tina Turner during her performance of Flowers earlier in the night, it was American Idol alum Fantasia Barrino who really paid tribute to the late, great icon at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
The tribute came during a lengthy In Memoriam segment, following performances from Stevie Wonder, Jon Batiste and Annie Lennox, and was introduced by Oprah Winfrey.
“Tina Turner was always a towering figure. She is our forever goddess of rock ‘n roll, who inspired millions,” said Winfrey. “A moving symbol of grace and grit, soul and power. Our love and respect for Tina grew as we witnessed her bravely reclaim her freedom. From the moment I met Tina, first as a fan, then later blessed to become her friend. She was a special kind of role model.”
Fantasia honors Tina Turner with a performance of “Proud Mary” at the #Grammys pic.twitter.com/5DNiu7Dzwz
— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) February 5, 2024
@Glock_Topickz
“As those big wheels of time keep on turnin’, Tina’s voice continues to speak to all of us,” she continued. “Tonight, to honor Tina Turner, her memory with her own empowering voice, joined by Adam Blackstone, this is Fantasia Barrino.”
From there, Fantastia hit the stage … and nearly scorched it to the ground singing “Proud Mary” — the very same song she auditioned with on American Idol 20 years ago.
Rocking a shimmery gold mini and belting Proud Mary for all to hear, she blew the roof off the house and got everyone on their feet, including Beyonce Knowles.
She even worked her way through the audience, getting Dua Lipa and others to rock out along with her. And yes, she did the infamous dance the whole time too. Watch some of the performance above!