Kelly Rowland breaks down in tears on stage as she pays tribute to late fan
Dominic Smithers
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@iwantnewmusic/GoFundMe
Kelly Rowland broke down in tears during her headline performance at Mighty Hoopla Festival over the weekend.
The former Destiny's Child singer took to the stage in London on Saturday (3 June) with thousands of fans watching on.
And the 42-year-old used the opportunity to pay tribute to one of her biggest fans, who died of breast cancer recently.
In September 2020, Julie Lillis was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.
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A few weeks later, she was told that the disease had in fact spread and that her chance of survival was very low.
In a bid to get potentially life-saving treatment, which wasn't available on the NHS, Lillis set up a fundraising page, with Rowland donating £28,000.
The donation to the GoFundMe was made under 'Titan & Noah Weatherspoon' - the names of Rowland's children.
Speaking at the time about the kind gesture, Lillis said: "It's such an amazing act of kindness, so taken back by the donation.
"I've had donations from Australia, America, Switzerland and locally - I can't believe how far my page has reached.
"I'm so grateful for each and every person who has helped."
Adding: "I'm so grateful to every single person who has helped me. Whether it was £5 or £500, I'm thankful for all the kindness and support I've been shown. It's unbelievable."
Sadly, however, in March this year, Lillis died.
And dedicating her song 'Stole' to the fan on Saturday, Rowland became very emotional.
"This song I want to dedicate to my darling Julie, who has been with Destiny's Child and me my whole career," she said.
"Julie I love you, this one's for you."
Rowland's set included a medley of her greatest hits, such as 'Bills Bills Bills', 'Survivor', 'Independent Women Pt. 1', and 'Lose My Breath'.
And her fans loved every second of it.
"KELLY ROWLAND WAS AMAZING LAST NIGHT LIKE UNREAL," screeched one person on Twitter.
Another commented: "Kelly Rowland is amazing live."
"Kelly Rowland is such an underrated performer!" put a third.
While someone else added: "Safe to say Kelly Rowland absolutely killed her London show."
Following her performance, Rowland also took to social media to thank her fans for coming out.
The singer took to Instagram and shared a short video of her set.
"DAMN London. I love you so much!!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! (sic)," she captioned the clip.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week