Beyoncé & JAY-Z Sang For Grenfell Tower Victims One Year Later & It Was Emotional
Beyoncé and JAY-Z are using music to remember the victims of London’s Grenfell Tower fire one year later. The couple used the London leg of their On The Run II tour to honor those impacted by the tragedy with an emotional rendition of “Young Forever," and it'll give you all the feelings. Prepare to watch the video of Beyoncé and JAY-Z's tribute to Grenfell Tower fire victims on repeat, because it is just that moving.
On Friday, June 15, Mr. and Mrs. Carter took a moment to pay homage to the residents who lost their lives during the West London tragedy, which occurred on June 14, 2017. The world rallied around London after a fire broke out at the North Kensington Grenfell Tower last year, claiming the lives of 72 people and injuring over 70. Beyoncé's tear-jerking anniversary tribute proves that while the victims might be gone, they will never be forgotten.
In a clip shared by the Twitter account Justice4Grenfell, Bey can be heard addressing the crowd, saying, "This goes out to the family and friends of the victims of the Grenfell fire, God bless you." She then launches into an emotional performance of "Young Forever" while holding hands with her rapper husband, and it'll make you so emotional.
According to ET Online, the "Formation" hitmaker — who was dressed in a sparkly black gown — also sported a green pin to endorse the Justice4Grenfell movement. Although it's been a year since the tragedy, there are still a lot of ongoing investigations into how the fire spread so quickly and why firefighters weren't able to rescue more residents at Grenfell. Per the BBC, the blaze was reportedly thought to have started from a broken fridge before completely engulfing the block. Since then, people have been looking into the building's flammable cladding and outside insulation, which a BBC report claims might have contributed to the rapid proliferation of the fire. Beyoncé's moving dedication pays tribute to everyone who lost their lives while continuing to demand justice for the victims, and I'm here for it.
Needless to say, people were overwhelmed with emotions during the beautiful performance, and many took to Twitter to share their thoughts and clips from the concert.
Bey isn't the only musician with the Grenfell Fire fresh on her mind. On Thursday, June 14, Adele reportedly went to a memorial site in London to pay her respects alongside Grenfell family members and survivors, according to ET Online. During the service, the choir reportedly sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel while the Grammy Award-winning songstress put her own spin on Bill Withers' classic ballad, "Lean On Me," per the publication.
The blaze hit close to home for Adele, who's a London native and owns a home in Kensington, and she's been doing her part to support the survivors and families of the victims since the tragedy last June. Just hours after the fire, she and her husband Simon Konecki headed to Grenfell Tower to offer support and hugs to the survivors. Later that month, she pledged her financial aid to those impacted by the fire by encouraging concertgoers to donate during her four-night Hello Tour stint at Wembley Stadium, per reports by People.
“It’s been two weeks since the fire, and still the people who were affected by it are homeless,” the "Someone Like You" hitmaker told the crowd in a pre-recorded message. “I promise that the money we raise together will go directly to the people who are living in that block.”
On the first anniversary of the tragic blaze, Beyoncé and Adele are helping helping us keep the victims of the Grenfell Fire in our thoughts with song, and their tributes are equal parts cathartic and heartbreaking. Here's to never forgetting, and finding justice for the victims. I'm not crying, you're crying.
