Beyoncé left Barbra Streisand all shook up when she sang her classic ballad just for her. In this magical performance, we get to hear a completely different side to Beyoncé as she performs the ’73 hit “The Way We Were.” She really sounds like an old-school diva from yesteryear on the romantic ballad, and it’s the perfect tribute to the legendary Streisand. As for Streisand, she watched spellbound in the audience, clearly deeply touched by Beyoncé’s gesture to her.

I honestly never thought I’d say a Beyoncé performance gave off Disney princess vibes, but she does here with a sweet and vulnerable performance on the romance film hit. The backing is also on point, with some beautiful, old-school ‘70s orchestration. The Music Man has to say Beyoncé’s ability to weave around the music with her voice while building to a touching, classy conclusion shows she can do anything as a vocalist.

Beyoncé performed “The Way We Were” at Streisand’s Kennedy Center Honors, and the video drew 4.5 million views on YouTube. Fans loved to see a completely different side to Queen Bey and added comments such as “I have not seen Beyonce sing something this straight. Truly beautiful” and “I love Barbra nodding in approval. Sung with her own embellishments but not overdone. Beautiful performance.”

There’s no question that Beyoncé always brings her A-game on stage. Another classic Queen Bey moment came when she dropped “Halo” on The Late Show. The interplay between Beyoncé’s soul power lead vocals and the backing vocal trio makes it one helluva memorable performance. There’s also just something about the energy that Beyoncé brings on stage that just makes every performance something that you can’t look away from.

Barbra Streisand released “The Way We Were” on September 27, 1973, as the lead single from her studio album of the same name. The ballad was the lead song of the 1973 romance film The Way We Were.
The Music Man readers may recall that the lyrics address the troubled relationship of the film’s protagonists, with Streisand playing the leading role alongside Robert Redford.
“The Way We Were” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the top-performing song on the chart for 1974. The song also picked up two Academy Awards. The tune has since become one of Streisand’s signature songs and is a regular fixture on her live sets.