Beyonce has a history of using Halloween as a time to celebrate the legendary artists who came before her. She gave Janet Jackson a nod in 2014 by recreating her Rhythm Nation look. 2016 saw an amazing Salt & Pepa look that recruited her mom, Tina, and daughter, Blue Ivy. Lil Kim had so many iconic looks that Bey wore five Kim costumes in 2017. This year, Queen Bey paid homage to legendary powerhouse vocalist Toni Braxton.
Bey recreated the cover of Toni's self titled album. If you were around in the mid 90's, you absolutely heard tracks off of this album - even if you didn't listen to r&b.
LaFace
That album remains one of the most successful debut albums in history and made waves all around the world. It went platinum in New Zealand, double platinum in Canada, and 8 times platinum in the United States! It was also a huge hit in Japan, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and a bunch of other countries. In other words - Toni dropped a worldwide game changer with this album.
Bey would have only been twelve or so when it came out, but clearly it made an impact. Her Halloween costume was a really convincing and faithful re-creation of the look. She dubbed herself "Phoni" Braxton.
The Beyhive got a series of stellar Instagram posts about it:
Toni LOVED it and shared some pictures with her fans. Even she had to admit Bey nailed It.
Phoni Braxton!? NEVER!!! How do you look better than me on MY album cover? I LOVE IT, Such a superstar! Thanks fo… https://t.co/A2rAVW1NrG— Toni Braxton (@Toni Braxton) 1540935522.0
She wasn't the only one. Bey's Halloween looks always make waves, but people loved seeing her tip her hat to a criminally underrated artist like Toni. Queens supporting Queens is everything Twitter wants right now.
@tonibraxton @Beyonce This is so dope! I love when we celebrate each other.— Womaniam (@Womaniam) 1540940936.0
@tonibraxton @Beyonce I love seeing us pick each other up. Salute ladies, you two are the queens we need in times like this. 👏🏽✊🏽— Neale (@Neale) 1540937153.0
Beyoncé came into the game being respectful of legends & still 20 years later, she remains just that & beyond. Sh… https://t.co/MHfnhvWoie— Khalil (@Khalil) 1540935992.0
@EnovelasAfric @tonibraxton @Beyonce Imitation is the highest form of flattery! That’s ❤️ !— MelZSoSwt (@MelZSoSwt) 1540940708.0
@tonibraxton @Beyonce The next time Toni and Phoni see each other. (Bey killed this by the way) https://t.co/YjS2muiBM9— A.D. Roberts 🏁 (@A.D. Roberts 🏁) 1540937964.0
Bey paying tribute to Toni Braxton warmed me up inside, so much beauty in that gesture-black sistahood luvin, andon… https://t.co/sw4jb7XXPJ— Thole loMthwakazi (@Thole loMthwakazi) 1540968539.0
Comparisons to a currently-notorious beef between another pair of female artists happened pretty much IMMEDIATELY.
@tonibraxton @Beyonce Legend Supporting Legend. Cardi and Nicki could never. https://t.co/LwJ3RolJFr— Comfortsweet (@Comfortsweet) 1540936061.0
@tonibraxton @Beyonce While Cardi and Nicki fight.... We have 2 legends saluting each other !!!! 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 Queens!!!! https://t.co/c7K9EGjs5M— MusicXclusives (@MusicXclusives) 1540935725.0
Damn, Beyonce killed this Toni Braxton costume/impression for Halloween.I love seeing queens prop each other up in… https://t.co/O1vKNXZg5p— Neale (@Neale) 1540934862.0
Twitter took a moment for some serious Toni Braxton appreciation.
Bey recognition or not, Toni Braxton has an amazing discography of quality hits and deserves genuine praise.— biased. (@biased.) 1540930894.0
There’s only 1️⃣ Toni Braxton. Bey did good, but there can only be 1️⃣ https://t.co/KdjvSXKeTz— El Bario 🌍 (@El Bario 🌍) 1540939047.0
Saw Toni Braxton trending on Twitter and briefly panicked. SO relieved to see it's just because Bey has an AMAZEBAL… https://t.co/nQjDja9Phw— Tymber (with a Y) Dalton 📚❄️🌈♉️🌊🦄 (@Tymber (with a Y) Dalton 📚❄️🌈♉️🌊🦄) 1540937583.0
Whew Chile. Let me go buy my Toni Braxton tickets For this upcoming tour before these 2000s babies discover who she… https://t.co/4Dp8VRwjdA— Jelly Rolland (@Jelly Rolland) 1540931427.0
Toni Braxton has an incredibly powerful and tragic story. Like, they made a movie about her life story - it's that intense. Bad contracts, chronic illness, family drama, and more have put her up against financial issues more than once. She's one of the most universally loved artists ever, but life just keeps knocking her down.
People have their fingers crossed Bey might be inadvertently changing that, especially since Toni is about to go on tour.
What Beyonce did for Toni Braxton yesterday was more than a Halloween costume or making us remember the once-heavy… https://t.co/XuBFUwrQOZ— DARL McHENRI 📌 (@DARL McHENRI 📌) 1540968900.0
I would love to see a report about how much Toni Braxton's music streams surged yesterday post Beyonce' posting about her.— Matthew A. Cherry 🏁 (@Matthew A. Cherry 🏁) 1540993730.0
Toni Braxton is about to get enough streams to bring her out of bankruptcy. Queen of debt forgiveness @Beyonce— Dracarys 🐉 (@Dracarys 🐉) 1540932011.0