Patti LaBelle, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson and Yolanda Adams bring down the house at theGrio Awards
Patti LaBelle was honored with the Music Icon Award at the inaugural awards ceremony.
“Byron Allen Presents theGrio Awards” showcased an unforgettable musical moment when Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams, Queen Latifah and Patti LaBelle delivered a crowd-pleasing performance.
The quintet belted out a powerful and moving cover of the Karyn White R&B classic “Superwoman” during a ceremony that reserved one of its highest honors for the Grammy award-winning Patti LaBelle.
A major showcase of Black excellence, the inaugural awards ceremony recognized some of the most impactful African-American names in music, TV and film, comedy, sports, business and other sectors. Queen Latifah, Hudson, Tyler Perry, Ben Crump and Don Peebles were among the other honorees.
Patti LaBelle received the Music Icon Award and, as a result, was showered with musical tribute performances. The “Godmother of Soul” would eventually grace the stage herself in the show’s finale — along with her four friends — to cover “Superwoman,” a song she also covered in 1991 with Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick. The five singers brought the crowd to its feet. Check out a clip from the performance below.
In a statement he made when the awards were announced, Byron Allen — chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, which owns theGrio — revealed the inspiration behind the ceremony.
“I created theGrio Awards to celebrate and amplify African-American excellence and the incredible champions from other communities who truly support us,” he said. “Celebrating and amplifying iconic individuals is something we can never do enough of, especially for our children.”
Watch “Byron Allen Presents theGrio Awards” at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 on CBS and at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27 on theGrio Cable Network. Check your local listings.
