Patti LaBelle is a legend, full stop.
Unfortunately for the singer, however, she’s also infamous for one of the great disastrous performances of all time: Her appearance at the National Christmas Tree Lighting in 1996 in which she flubbed the lyrics to This Christmas and wondered, mid-song, “WHERE MY BACKGROUND SINGERS????”
Fast-forward to Sunday night. She performed The Best as part of a tribute to the late Tina Turner at the 2023 BET Awards and … well, it happened again. She messed up some lyrics, and once again, she ad-libbed masterfully, with a “Whatever, I can’t see the words! I’m trying!” and an “Oh Lord!”
Fans reacted:
#BETAwards whose idea was this? #PattiLabelle #TinaTurner pic.twitter.com/43vCQFBmrD
— All Tea All Shade (@TeaTimeTips2) June 26, 2023
“Due to the crowd's enthusiasm, the teleprompter was obstructed, obscuring Ms. LaBelle's view of the lyrics. Nonetheless, we couldn’t be more grateful to Ms. LaBelle for lending her incredible talent to this moment," a #BETAwards spokesperson tells @THR https://t.co/Z4RKoO8dyL
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 26, 2023
Patti LaBelle giving us a sequel to Where’s My Background Singers is wonderful, serotonin-inducing camp.
10/10, no notes. pic.twitter.com/Bwmljs4NQZ
— Phil Clifton (@philclifton) June 26, 2023
Oh naur. Not Miss Patti giving us a new “where’s my background singers” moment 🫠😅
pic.twitter.com/n4WDlvs0sj— Ryan James Dee (@RyanJamesDee) June 26, 2023
Patti LaBelle versus teleprompters… a decades long battle… pic.twitter.com/YJphLXZkhz
— DJ Heat (@DJHeatDC) June 26, 2023
It’s giving “where are my background singers!” Why they keep setting Ms. Patti up? 😩 #BETAwards
— Sonda (@msveasley) June 26, 2023
“Where my background singers???”
Patti stay forgetting lyrics 😂 💜 https://t.co/ksandmg0OS pic.twitter.com/RsA3eGXHnK
— André Marcel Harris, MSW (@andreharris89) June 26, 2023
Is this another “where are my background singers?!” moments, Patti #BETAwards
— Sweet Prince o’ the Ghetto (@blakademic) June 26, 2023
