Dionne Warwick on her Twitter fame, tour plans and collaborating with artists like Chance the Rapper

Dionne Warwick on her Twitter fame, tour plans and collaborating with artists like Chance the Rapper

Dionne Warwick has toured for decades, won five Grammys and sold over 100 million albums around the world. But a new generation of fans is getting to know the legendary musician in part because of her tweets.

This week on 60 Minutes Plus, correspondent Wesley Lowery profiles the 80-year-old as she itches to get back to performing. The pandemic kept Warwick off stage for the first time in nearly six decades, but she found a fun distraction with Twitter. When asked how she got into social media, Warwick said, "My niece. And being nosy."

"I had my nieces and nephews at my home one night. And they decided they were going to be twittering or twatting," Warwick said. "And they were having such a good time, you know, laughing and giggling and watching their little thumbs go crazy on phones. And I wanted to know what they were so entranced about here. 'What are you laughing about?'"

One of those nieces, Brittani Warwick, happens to run a digital media agency.

"I thought it would be a good idea for her to get on Twitter and start interacting and engaging with people," Brittani explained.

She told Lowery her aunt's persona on Twitter isn't different at all from the real-life Dionne Warwick.

"She's very down to earth. Anything that you see that she says on Twitter, she's going to say that to you in person. There's no difference," Brittani told 60 Minutes Plus. "She's the same person."

Warwick has since formed a number of high-profile online relationships.

"The Weeknd. Taylor Swift. Cardi B. Who's a hoot. And she's adorable," Warwick said of the celebrities she's talked with online. "And generally just people."

She told Taylor Swift to keep her head high as Swift continued her years-long battle for control of her musical catalog.

"With what she went through, I was addressing that basically, she was basically cheated out of her possession," Warwick explained.

And she playfully asked Chance the Rapper about his stage name.

"Everybody knew he was a rapper. Why'd you have to reiterate it? You know, tell me. And he took it the way it was given. You know, it was a smile behind it. And I must say, I was completely surprised that he responded. Subsequently, we've become friends," Warwick said. "We are in the throes of doing a duet. You know, Chance the Rapper and Dionne the singer."

You can watch Lowery's profile of Warwick now on 60 Minutes Plus, streaming only on Paramount Plus.

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