Stephanie Mills is hitting the stage looking as good as ever as one of the four iconic headliners on The Queens Tour.

Led by Black Promoters Collective, The Queens Tour features Mills, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, and Chaka Khan, and initially kicked off on Friday, May 9, in Las Vegas at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. 

At age 68, Mills is the youngest queen to grace the stage for the event. She says what makes this tour so great is the amount of love that each of the ladies has for one another and the demeanor in which they carry themselves—as true queens.

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“We love each other,” she told MadameNoire backstage during the Mother’s Day show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. “Patti and I will stand out there and watch Gladys. Usually, I’m gone after Patti goes on, because I like going to bed early, but it’s just wonderful. I’m the baby of the group at 68, but, you know, I’ve always wanted to work with Chaka and go on the road with Chaka. So I’m glad that this finally happened. I prayed for this to happen, and it’s finally come true.”

Known for her powerful live performances, which Mills says is a testament to where she comes from as a trained thespian, the first Black woman to portray Dorothy in the Broadway production of The Wiz to be exact, the “Home” singer admits that she doesn’t play around when it comes to her health routine, and ensuring that she’s exercising her vocal chords in the most healthy way possible.

“I sing all the time. I sing during the week, and I work out,” Mills explained. “And I don’t work out as vigorously as I used to, but I work out every day just to kind of keep it going, and singing every day.”

She added, “And the fact that I just love what I do. I really, really love what I do.”

Introduced by her son, Farad Mills, during the show was a full Mother’s Day moment for Mills, making her reflect on the bond that she had with her own mother, the late Christine Mills.

“My mother was very outspoken, and she always told me to be myself and not to listen to other people, to not be a follower,” Mills recalled. “Stick to what you say and always be a lady, she was very much like that. She would fight my battles for me. I didn’t have to.”

Blown away by the continued support from her fans since her debut at the age of nine, thanks to her appearance in Broadway’s Maggie Flynn, Mills attests all of her success to the strong presence of her family during and throughout her rise to fame.

“I can’t believe that people still appreciate my music. What I did with The Wiz in ‘75,” she expressed with a sincere air of gratitude. “Because this is not a guarantee. There’s so many that came through with me that are no longer here that couldn’t deal with the pressure of it all. And I think I was able to deal with it because of my mom. My mom was with me a lot, and she was a strong southern woman. I think that’s why I survived. And I have sisters that watched out for me. My family was very much involved in my early development.” 

Catch Stephanie Mills, alongside Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan at The Queens Tour, powered by the Black Promoter Collective, now taking place through May and June, with a break until September and October.

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The post Stephanie Mills Talks Sisterhood, Self-Care, And Slaying The Stage At 68 On ‘The Queens Tour’—’I Prayed For This’ [Exclusive] appeared first on MadameNoire.