Lizzo has honoured Tina Turner by saying rock ’n’ roll “wouldn’t exist” without the powerhouse singer.
The 35-year-old ‘Juice’ singer, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, paid tribute to her hero during a performance on Wednesday, the day Tina’s death aged 83 was announced by her team.
She yelled at her fans a series of times during her gig in Phoenix, Arizona: “There wouldn’t be no rock ’n’ roll without Tina Turner!”
Lizzo added: “Today, we lost an icon and I haven’t allowed myself to be sad. I haven’t allowed myself to cry. I don’t want to right now because I’d much rather celebrate the incredible legend Tina Turner is.
“As a black girl in a rock band, I would not exist if it were not for the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
The ‘About Damn Time’ singer then sang Tina’s hit ‘Proud Mary’ – and copied her trademark dance moves.
She also posted videos of the performance on her Instagram, captioning them: “FOR TINA.”
The ‘Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll’ had a six-decade career that saw her inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2021 after selling more than 100 million records.
Two months before her death, Tina admitted she was in “great danger” due to her long battle with kidney disease.
She said on Instagram in March: “My kidneys are victims of my not realising that my high blood pressure should have been treated with conventional medicine.
“I have put myself in great danger by refusing to face the reality that I need daily, lifelong therapy with medication. For far too long I believed that my body was an untouchable and indestructible bastion.”
She is survived by her 67-year-old husband Erwin Bach – who donated one of his kidneys to Tina in 2017 – and two of her sons who she adopted during her tumultuous marriage to Ike Turner.
Tina’s eldest son Raymond Craig who she had with Raymond Hill died by suicide in Los Angeles in 2018 and in December 2022 her boy Ronnie was killed by complications linked to colon cancer.
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