Beyoncé is honoring Tina Turner. During her tour stop in Paris’ Stade France on Friday, Beyoncé stopped her show to remember the legendary singer, who died earlier this week.
“I just want to take a second and honor Tina Turner,” she told the crowd. “If you’re a fan of mine, you’re a fan of Tina Turner. I wouldn’t be on this stage without Tina Turner, so I want you guys to just scream, so she can feel your love.”
“I feel so blessed that I was allowed to witness her brilliance,” Beyoncé added.
The message for Turner at her concert comes a few days after she shared a letter to the late legend on her website.
“My beloved queen. I love you endlessly,” Beyoncé wrote. “I’m so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way. You are strength and resilience. You are the epitome of power and passion. We are all so fortunate to have witnessed your kindness and beautiful spirit that will forever remain. Thank you for all you have done.”
Celebrities such as Janelle Monáe, Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, and Mariah Carey also shared tributes to the singer following her death.
Beyoncé has long cited Turner as one of her main musical inspirations. Upon Turner’s death, the BeyHive resurfaced clips of Beyoncé speaking about Turner’s impact.
“When I was a kid and I saw her tapes, I wanted to be like her,” she says in it. The video dates back to the 2008 Grammy Awards, when Beyoncé and Turner collided on stage for a performance of “Proud Mary.” It begins by showing Beyoncé, then 26-years-old, skipping towards Turner in their first meeting. She embraces Tina Turner like an aunt she’s known all of her life.
Before that moment, Beyoncé spoke highly of Turner during the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors.
“I’ll never forget the first time I saw you perform,” Beyoncé said to her directly. “I never in my life saw a woman so powerful, so fearless, so fabulous — and those legs!”
Turner died on Wednesday at the age of 83 “after a long illness,” her family said in a statement on Wednesday. “With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” they said. A cause of death was not immediately available, though Turner had a stroke and battled both kidney failure and intestinal cancer in recent years.
Bey’s show in Paris also stands out as she was joined by her and Jay-Z’s daughter Blue Ivy on stage to perform “My Power.”