See Patti LaBelle Forget Lyrics as Tina Turner Tribute Goes Wrong (VIDEO)

“I can’t see the words and I don’t know,” she told the crowd. “I’m tryin’ y’all,” she added as she appeared to be squinting to read the words from the teleprompter, which was situated at the back of the theater. A post on twitter from someone attending the event said that the problem was because some audience members were standing up and blocking LaBelle’s view of the words.

Nevertheless, she persevered, and audience members who were clearly more familiar with the lyrics joined in the singing in a bid to help LaBelle. Midway through her performance LaBelle hilariously shouted out, “Where my background singers?” in reference back to a previous mishap she had at the 1996 National Tree Lighting Ceremony when her cue cards were out of order as she sang “This Christmas.”

Despite her issues with “Simply the Best,” LaBelle remained calm and classy, and her voice sounded as strong as ever.

“God bless you Tina Turner, BET, hip-hop!” she said as she finished the tune. And with that the crowd wildly cheered.

When asked what went wrong, a BET spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter: “Due to the crowd’s enthusiasm, the teleprompter was obstructed, obscuring Ms. LaBelle’s view of the lyrics. Nonetheless, we couldn’t be more grateful to Ms. LaBelle for lending her incredible talent to this moment.”