On the December 15 broadcast of the 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors, Broadway’s Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) performed to pay tribute to the members of Earth, Wind & Fire—one of this year’s honorees.
Erivo sang a medley of two of the group’s hits: “Fantasy” and “Reasons.” Watch her performance in the video above.
Hosted by LL Cool J, the ceremony was held and recorded December 8 at the Kennedy Center Opera House and later aired on CBS. You can watch the full special on CBS.com and CBS All Access.
In addition to the soul-funk-R&B group, this year’s honorees included Tony Award–nominated and two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field, Tony-nominated singer Linda Ronstadt, children’s series Sesame Street, and conductor and musical visionary Michael Tilson Thomas.
The show also included a performance by six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, in honor of Thomas.
Erivo made her Broadway debut as Celia in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple, for which she won Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Awards. Since then, she has starred on the silver screen in films like Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale. She was recently nominated for two Golden Globes, for her performance as Harriet Tubman in Harriet and for Best Original Song for Harriet’s “Stand Up.” Next year, she’ll be seen as Aretha Franklin in the new series Genius.
Watch Cynthia Erivo Sing ‘I Never Loved a Man’ Ahead of Playing Aretha Franklin in Genius
