It wouldn’t be a Patti LaBelle performance if she didn’t at some point kick her shoes off into the next time zone, and her Verzuz Battle with Gladys Knight on Instagram Live Sunday was no different. Instead of a showdown, however, LaBelle and Knight followed the pattern established by several Battles before them and had a lovefest, complimenting each other on everything from their tour buses to their cooking to their respective registers. However, if you weren’t sure if this Battle’s good vibes were genuine, Patti LaBelle fortunately has a pretty obvious tell.
If you were waiting for the other shoe to drop, however, Sunday’s Verzuz also had an eleventh-hour reveal that would have had us quaking in our boots (if we had to sing with her right offstage, we mean). Fellow legend Dionne Warwick joined the duo for a rendition of “That’s What Friends Are For†to close out the livestream. Come on Patti! (And Gladys and Dionne!)