Cynthia Erivo performs a jaw-dropping ‘Alfie’ in tribute to Dionne Warwick at Kennedy Center Honors

Cynthia Erivo brought tears to Dionne Warwick’s eyes as she performed a jaw-dropping cover of “Alfie” at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Five-time Grammy winner Warwick, 83, was one of the five artists celebrated at the 46th Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month.

Erivo’s performance has proved a hit on social media since the ceremony aired on CBS this week. It concludes with Erivo saying: “I love you, Ms Warwick.” The teary-eyed singer responds by applauding and smiling.

Warwick released her version of “Alfie”, which was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, in 1967.

Her discography includes a multidecade string of hits, both with and without Bacharach, that also includes “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” and “That’s What Friends Are For.”

The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees also includes comedian Billy Crystal, actor and rapper Queen Latifah, opera singer Renée Fleming and musician Barry Gibb. Each received personalized tributes that typically include appearances and performances that are kept secret from the honorees themselves.

In announcing the recipients earlier this year, the Kennedy Center’s president, Deborah F Rutter, called this year’s group of inductees “an extraordinary mix of individuals who have redefined their art forms.”

Erivo is set to appear in the two-part movie adaptation of hit musical Wicked. The first instalment is slated to be released on 27 November 2024, with the second part arriving a year later.

Earlier this year, fans of the musical were left in awe after the release of a first-look video teasing the set of the forthcoming screen version.

Announced in 2022, director Jon M Chu’s forthcoming two-part movie will star Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch, opposite Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

In a video reposted to Twitter from Pop Base, an aerial shot of what appears to be an intricate recreation of Elphaba’s native home of Munchkinland can be seen.

The iconic Yellow Brick Road, central to the plot of The Wizard of Oz, is shown passing through the heart of the fictional city.

Chu explained his decision to split the movie into two parts by saying: “It became impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it.

“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.”