Wynonna Judd Delivers Emotional First Performance Without Late Mom Naomi on 'The Judds' Tour | "I'm Speechless"

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of suicide that some readers may find distressing

Wynonna Judd delivered an emotional performance on the first "The Judds" tour without her late Mom Naomi Judd. The 11-city tour started at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday and the singer looked emotional on stage. The clip shared on social media showed Wynonna Judd appears getting emotional onstage as she sang alongside Brandi Carlile. "I'm speechless, actually," Judd can be hear saying in the clip shared by Twitter user Lynne J. Johnson. "Thank you for coming to my party," Judd added, reported TODAY. Fans of Naomi Judd, the late matriarch of Grammy-winning country duet "The Judds," will have the opportunity to say farewell and celebrate their songs in a last tour led by Wynonna Judd and all-star musical collaborators.

The Judd family is still mourning her untimely death during what should have been a happy year. The tour was announced just weeks before Naomi, 76, committed suicide on April 30, the day before they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, as per 

“It’s devastatingly beautiful to go back to the past and relive some of these memories,” Wynonna, 58, said earlier this week as she sat on a tour bus after rehearsals.
“Yesterday I was in rehearsal and there’s a part in the show where they sync up Mom singing with me. And I turned around and I just lost it.” The 11-city tour kicked off at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Judd looks to grow emotional onstage as she performs alongside Brandi Carlile in a footage uploaded on social media.

Naomi's husband of nearly 33 years said he hopes fans are encouraged to hear their popular songs played in venues again. But he knows he'll suffer if he sees or hears his wife on the big displays again. “I’m having trouble now just seeing pictures of her. I don’t know how much I can handle,” Strickland said. Another fan who shared a video of the concert wrote "Such an amazing night!! I hope everyone is reminded of how amazing The Judds legacy was and also how amazing Wynonna Judd is!! @Wynonna She is a force of nature with a voice to move mountains!!"

Strickland stated that his wife was delighted to travel with her daughter again since she enjoyed the interaction with the audience. The concept of a single mother raising two daughters to become one of country music's top duos, along with Naomi's showy style and cheery approachability, let people empathise with her. “She loved being on the stage and singing,” Strickland said. “She loved people. And she would do her twisting and twirling. She was the harmony singer. She was all about her hair and the little dresses that she would have made. And so that was her world.”

Wynonna said that she just visited the same hospital outside of Nashville where her mother died. She also observed images of volunteers who assisted patients on one of the walls in the emergency department. “And there’s a picture of my mother in the cutest little wig and she has her name tag, ‘Naomi Judd,’” she said."

That’s the complexity of this issue, because my mother, even in her darkest hour, would put on her wig and go down to the emergency room and help other people during their emergencies,” Wynonna said, her strong voice cracking. “So I find it pretty devastating that she got to a point where she was done helping herself.”

Before she was set to take the stage, Judd shared a clip on Instagram of what fans could expect to see during the show, as per Today. "Just a little sneak peek," she captioned the clip, which family photos of herself and her mother.

The family wants the fans to remember Naomi as a beautiful, talented, smart and colorfully complex woman, who had highs and lows, and was honest about her journey. “I want them to see that in adversity, in death, there is life,” said Wynonna.

If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) 

References:

https://www.today.com/popculture/music/wynonna-judd-starts-judds-final-tour-rcna50310?cid=sm_npd_td_fb_kh&fbclid=IwAR2Mv4SD3mAAWJuTl2IuTsiEM2goSRnnl6rO0WQP46FNBJmXaxeSFHRDt_8

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Rick Diamond / Staff