Biden welcomes 2023 Kennedy Center honorees to the White House

President Biden welcomed the 2023 Kennedy Center honorees to the White House on Sunday.

The Kennedy Center honors a select group of people each year for their artistic influences on American culture. This year’s honorees are Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick.

CBS will broadcast the 46th annual Kennedy Center Honors on Wednesday, December 27.

At Sunday’s reception, Biden spoke about the importance of the performing arts.

“Performing arts is about more than sound,” he said. “They reflect who we are as Americans. And as human beings. This is especially true of the more than 200 Kennedy Center honorees over the past 46 years, as they have helped shape the way we we perceive, how we see each other and how we see our world. honors not only based on length of career, breadth of work of increased fame, but because of their unique place in consciousness and in the very soul of our dynamic and diverse nation.

The president listed each honoree’s many accomplishments, calling Crystal someone who “makes everyone stop and laugh,” and said Fleming had a voice of “pure gold,” noting that she s was produced during a private mass for his family before his inauguration.

Biden also praised the music and family bond shared by the Bee Gees, represented by Gibb, the last surviving member of the brother trio, and called rapper Queen Latifah a “natural storyteller” and one of many Black artists ” using their art to break down barriers. »

Finally, he spoke about Warwick’s accomplishments as a singer, highlighting her impressive career and the many awards she has won over the years.

“Her voice and her heart make us feel something deep within ourselves,” he said.

Below are photos from this year’s 46th Kennedy Center Honors Gala: