Lionel Richie Jokes About Diana Ross Ditching Him For Beyonce's Birthday Show

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1095 Views
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According to the legendary singer, Ross has declined his requests to join him on stage for 37 years.

Music legends understandably have pretty busy schedules... sometimes, their calendar's filled up for 37 whole years. At least, that's how Lionel Richie feels about his efforts to get Diana Ross to perform their iconic collaboration "Endless Love" onstage with him. Moreover, the legendary vocalist recently held a glamorous show during which he joked about another legend declining a live duet for almost four decades. In fact, Richie specifically pointed to Ross' most recent appearance, where she sang happy birthday to a certain RENAISSANCE woman in pop culture. It seems like it was all in good fun, but it's still wild to think of the man behind "All Night Long" getting stood up.

"For 37 years, Diana has said 'No,'" Lionel Richie expressed onstage. "What made you think tonight she was gon' show up? She ain't comin'! She's over there singing happy birthday to Beyoncé. P*ssing me off." Of course, it's not like the 74-year-old has done nothing but twiddle his thumbs waiting for Ross for the past forty years. His career and legacy is as revered and celebrated as ever, and we're sure that it's still in the cards for them to grace the stage together one day.

Lionel Richie Calls Out Diana Ross For Joining Beyonce Onstage, But Not Him

What's more is that Diana Ross was not the only once-in-a-lifetime artist to join Queen Bey for her birthday tour stop in Los Angeles. None other than Kendrick Lamar hit the stage to perform his remix of "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM," which made the tens of thousands of fans in attendance go ballistic. Still, there's nothing quite as grand, regal, or generationally significant as having the iconic soul singer lead that cavalcade of fans to wish the Houston native well on her special day. As such, we can only imagine that Lionel Richie was just as jealous as the rest of us who didn't get to go to the show.

Meanwhile, as mentioned before, maybe this public call-out of sorts will inspire Ross to join Richie once and for all. They're two masters of their craft with some of the most timeless material of the past sixty years. Watch their birthdays, folks, as there's a chance that this won't be the last we hear of them. For more news and the latest updates on Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, and Beyonce, stick around on HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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