Barry Gibb Ariana DeBose Bee Gees Medley at Kennedy Center Honors 2023

Pianist Chloe Flower and singer Ariana DeBose perform Barry Gibb's medley of the Bee Gees songs How Deep Is Your Love, Stayin' Alive, and Tragedy at the 46th Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC, broadcast on December 27, 2023.

Queen Latifah, Dionne Warwick, and the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb were among the 2023 Kennedy Center honorees at a ceremony on December 3, 2023. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has shared footage from the show. The ceremony in Washington, D.C., hosted this year by 2017 honoree Gloria Estefan, honors exceptional lifetime contributions to the arts. Those paying tribute included Missy Elliott, Chloe Bailey, and Gladys Knight, to an audience that counted the president and first lady among its number. Billy Crystal and opera singer Renée Fleming were rounding out this year's awards class.

Missy Elliott sang Queen Latifah’s praises in a speech touching on her childhood exposure to Latifah’s music before Rapsody covered “Just Another Day.…” “What Latifah has taught us,” Elliott said, “is unity, to believe in yourself, and to love a Black woman from infinity to infinity.”

Chloe Bailey, Cynthia Erivo, and Gladys Knight all sang songs from Warwick’s storied discography. At the same time, Saturday Night Live’s Ego Nwodim and 2020 honoree Debbie Allen gave speeches in the soul legend’s honor. Bailey performed “Walk On By,” Erivo sang “Alfie,” and Knight picked out “Say a Little Prayer.”

Barry Gibb’s tribute included a Michael Bublé version of “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” and Little Big Town’s take on “Lonely Days, Lonely Nights.” Ben Platt sang “Nights on Broadway” and Ariana DeBose performed a medley of the Bee Gees’ hits, such as “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Stayin’ Alive.”

The Kennedy Center Honors also paid tribute to actor Billy Crystal, theater star Renée Fleming, Dionne Warwick, and musician-actor Queen Latifah with a star-studded ceremony hosted by vocalist Gloria Estefan, who received her honors in 2017.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meg Ryan, Robert De Niro, MC Lyte, Ben Platt, Titus Burgess, Michael Bublé, and Ariana DeBose appeared to help celebrate the 2023 class of honorees.