(soft piano music)
(audience applause)
- The Kennedy Center Honors is an institution,
the premier celebration of American cultural life.
(audience applause)
- When I think of Gladys Knight,
what I think of is just that voice.
It's raw power, it's emotion.
Her voice is,
has always been, and will always be undeniable,
unmistakable, unbridled.
- [Audience] Here, here.
- I can tell you so many things
about my life through this music.
I like this one because it starts this way.
It says:
♪ I've had my share ♪
(man and woman shout out)
♪ Of life's ups and downs ♪
- [Man] Yeah!
♪ Fates have been kind ♪
♪ And the downs have been few ♪
♪ I guess you could say ♪
- [Woman] Yes.
♪ That I've been lucky ♪
(audience applauds, hoots)
♪ Hello Dolly ♪ (laughter)
♪ Well, hello ♪
- So I say, "Why can't I believe
that my friend, George Clooney,
is getting this award tonight?"
'Cause he's my friend, George.
I mean, you all know George Clooney.
But the George Clooney I know
hasn't changed a bit since I first met him.
Oh, it's a compliment, it's unbelievable.
And I'm gonna tell you something.
(laughter)
In the words of our good friend, Ben,
"He is the same George today as the George I remember
turning into Rosemary's driveway."
To George.
(applause)
Love you. - Thank you.
- I love you, man.
- I, literally, get to do my job,
and I'm very lucky because I get to do the things
I love to do.
But I get to share it with all of you.
And that, to me, is everything.
And Richard, thank you so much for all the kind words.
I love you.
And thank you all.
(audience applauds)
- I remember when I first moved to Nashville 40 years ago,
I was driving down 8th Avenue,
and I heard Amy's voice on the radio.
And I stopped the car, turned it up.
I said, "Whoever that is, that's a voice I like hearing.
And that's a voice that speaks to me."
So, I would love to lift a a glass to my best friend,
Miss Amy Grant.
(audience cheers, hoots) (glasses clink)
- Woo-hoo!
I mean, I don't know about you.
I respond so differently when I believe I'm loved.
It just changes everything.
Changes the way I stand.
It changes the way I embrace.
Changes the way I see.
And so I started singing in the coffee shop.
Because I wanted everybody around the world
to know that they were loved.
(audience applause)
- Imagine Tania León, the artist, the force for change.
A woman who never,
never tolerates qualifiers
and uses her art to create worlds without limitations.
Tania, my dear friend, I raise my glass to you.
Congratulations on your Kennedy Center Honor.
It is richly deserved.
(audience hoots and applauds)
- I never dreamed that something like this will happen.
And that I would actually like to say,
at this point, that I would summon all of the spirits
that have helped me.
And that include my extended family,
Arthur Mitchell,
Leonard Bernstein,
Hans Wener Henze,
Ursula Mamlok,
I mean, and many that I, actually,
am not gonna mention right now.
And I invite all of them to sing with me.
Bésame Mucho.
Thank you. (laughs)
(audience applauds)
- And I'm going to do something that I don't normally do.
I'm very outspoken, and I always speak my mind.
But I think I'm gonna speak on behalf
of the world right now.
I feel confident speaking for the world.
(laughter) (Julia clears throat)
Just this once.
When I say that we, the world, are beholden to you
for your gifts, for your hearts,
for your shining examples of humanity.
(applause)
- The John F. Kennedy Center Honors are generally awarded
to artists who, over the length
of a long and distinguished career,
have made a significant contribution to American culture.
So we're a little puzzled as to why you would honor
a bunch of Irish lads
(laughter)
who, at least in our heads,
are just starting out.
(laughter) (smattering of applause)
Nevertheless, we are incredibly grateful
and proud to receive this honor,
named after a great American, John F. Kennedy,
who also happens to be of Irish descent.
(audience applauds)
(piano music fades)