Stevie Wonder has made a rare appearance at the iHeart Radio Awards this year to hand Beyoncé the Innovator Award for her work in the music industry.
Legends honored legends last night at the awards show, when Stevie Wonder took to the stage to dish out the iHeart Radio Awards. The music icon had been tasked to presenting one of the biggest trophies of the night, for the Innovator Award. He had the honor of handing out the gong to Beyoncé for her work in the industry.
Beyoncé and Wonder exchange gratitude on stage
After receiving the accolade from the singer, Beyoncé seemed visibly moved by the ordeal.
She told him: “Whenever anyone asks me if there’s anyone I could listen to for the rest of my life, it’s always you.
“Thank you, God bless you”.
But Stevie Wonder was also giving out compliments on the iHeart Radio Awards, as he thanked Bey for “motivating the world to become a better place”.
Then the 42-year-old thanked the singer again, but this time for playing harmonica on her new track Jolene, a cover of Dolly Parton‘s iconic song, on her new album Cowboy Carter.
After picking up her statue, she said: “To all the record labels, every radio station & every award show, my hope is that we are more open to the joy and liberation that comes from enjoying art with no preconceived notions”
It comes after a number of radio stations reportedly refused to play the singer’s new country singles. Out of the 150 country radio stations across the states that report into Billboard, only eight played her track Texas Hold ‘Em.
Beyoncé gets “Innovator Award” at the #iHeartAwards from Stevie Wonder
“To all the record labels, every radio station & every award show, my hope is that we are more open to the joy and liberation that comes from enjoying art with no preconceived notions”pic.twitter.com/WMJnGvgLRT
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 2, 2024View Tweet
Stevie Wonder fans ‘happy’ for his health after seeing him at the iHeart Radio Awards
For some fans of the celebrity, they picked up on how well the singer looked.
One fan wrote: “Stevie, the patriarch of Black American music, looks great. I’m happy he’s recovered.”
It comes after his health suffered a blow back in 2019. The celebrity, which fans grew concerned he had been diagnosed with kidney failure, was still performing and going on tour.
Despite the battle, he kept going, with longtime friend Joan Belgrave saying: “He’s got some health challenges, but he doesn’t want a big PR thing out of this. He’s in great spirits. You would never know anything is going on. That’s how he wants it, and that’s how he wants to keep it.”
Then in October 2020, Stevie told fans he had undergone a kidney transplant.
Addressing the fears over his condition, the Isn’t She Lovely star told fans to only listen to what he said about his private life.
He said: “If I’m feeling some kind of way, I’ll let you know. We don’t want to have misinformation. I am alive and well.”
“Let everybody know that I was blessed with a new kidney and that happened on Dec. 6, 2019.
“Since I have been released from the hospital, I’ve had nurses that have made sure I have my medicine on time and I’m going to take it for as long as I have to — even if it’s for the rest of my life.”
Kidneys work to filter waste products from the blood, converting it into urine, which people release when they go to the bathroom. However, if a kidney has little to no function, waste products can build up and, in some cases, be life-threatening.
Wonder continued: “I feel great. My voice feels great. I told my daughter, ‘Aisha, I’m going to be like five years younger than you now.’ I said, ‘I’m gonna go from being 70 to like 40.'”
He added: “I feel like I’m about 40 right now, and I just thank everyone for their prayers and love. I’m feeling great.”
Singer wanted to move 6000 miles away
But it wasn’t the only big change in the star’s life recently.
Stevie also said he was going to make a big move to Ghana, telling Oprah Winfrey the following year, he wanted to relocate for his family.
He said: “I wanna see this nation smile again. And I want to see it before I leave to travel to move to Ghana because I’m going to do that.”
When Oprah asked if he would live there full-time, Wonder said he would: “I am. I don’t want to see my children’s children’s children have to say, ‘Oh please like me. Please respect me, please know that I am important, please value me.’ What is that?”
He also has made his feelings known on social media on Martin Luther King Day throughout the years.
That same year, he released a recorded video on Twitter, remembering when he met the activist when he was only 14.
He said at the time: “I want you to know that I am thankful for how you influenced my place of love, which allowed me to try to push the needle of love and equality forward.
“It is painful to know that needle has not moved one iota. For 36 years, we’ve had a national holiday honoring your birthday and principles, yet you would not believe the lack of progress.
“It makes me physically sick. I am sick of politicians trying to find an easy solution to a 400-year problem.”
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