Patti LaBelle brought Mariah Carey to tears with this heartfelt tribute. The Godmother of Soul sang such a sweet cover of Carey’s number one hit “Hero” as the younger star watched from the audience, and she was so clearly moved. Carey’s lyrics for the song were so fitting for the moment, as LaBelle was honoring her at the ceremony where Carey took home The BET Honors Award for Excellence in Entertainment.

LaBelle is one of the legends of R&B, and her take on the 1993 hit was done with such conviction and power. Her lithe and dynamic voice so perfectly rode the ups and downs of the melody throughout, before lifting the intensity for the final hook and closing out with the delicate outro. Readers may note that it was all a bit much for Mimi, who at first just held her hands to her face as she cried, before she eventually recovered and watched with a big smile on her face.

LaBelle performed at the BET Awards on July 1, 2012. When the song was uploaded on YouTube in 2021, it blew up and drew 3.1 million views. Fans loved the special moment, adding comments such as “Mariah has been singing ‘Hero’ a lot for others. When Patti sang it for her, she just couldn’t help but cry. For a moment, she felt comforted. Patti is a legend!” and “She doesn’t get enough credit for her songwriting skills. People think Mariah is just a singer, but they forget she writes her songs.”

Carey has given many memorable performances of “Hero” over the years. One of the greatest renditions of the hit is when Mimi teamed up with the late great tenor Luciano Pavarotti. The mix of Carey’s contemporary R&B style and Pavarotti’s traditional opera style was quite the combination, and really brought a fresh and brilliant take to the song.

Carey released “Hero” on October 18, 1993, as the second single cut from her third studio album Music Box. Mimi co-wrote and co-produced the song with her frequent collaborator Walter Afanasieff. Carey originally wrote “Hero” with the intention of having Gloria Estefan record the song for the soundtrack of the Dustin Hoffman comedy-drama film Hero. However, after hearing the demo, Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola convinced Carey the song was too good to be given to another artist. Readers won’t be surprised to hear that the exec’s intuition was correct, as “Hero” became a US number one hit for Mimi.