The Custom That Patti Labelle, Fantasia, LaSun Pace And Some Other African American Female Singers Have Of Kicking Off Their Shoes While SANGING

LaShun Pace - I Know I've Been Changed

 malacomg,  May 23, 2014

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series about YouTube comments from African Americans about a video that was published on YouTube in 2014 of Lashun Pace sanging the Gospel song "I Know I've Been Changed".

In addition to that YouTube video, this post presents some comments from that YouTube video's discussion thread about Lashun Pace and the custom that she, Patti Labelle, Fantasia and some other African American female vocalists' (especially Gospel singers) have of stepping out of their shoes when they are sanging.

Addendum #1 of this post presents my editor's comment from the closely related 2018 pancocojams post "Patti LaBelle's & Fantasia's Custom Of Kicking Off Their Shoes or Taking Off Their Shoes During Their Performances (with two videos)" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/09/patti-labelles-fantasias-custom-of.html

Addendum #2 of this post presents an AI Overview about Patti Labelle and Fantasia removing their shoes when they sing certain songs. 

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/lashun-pace-sanging-gospel-song-i-know.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents some information about Lashun Pace and presents some comments from that YouTube video's discussion thread that include affirming responses about Lashun Pace sanging that Gospel song.

A definition of the word "affirm" in the phrase "affirming comments" and a definition of "sanging" are included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for religious and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Lashun Pace for her musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the film maker for this clip and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube. Thanks also to Patti Labelle and Fantasia for their musical legacies. 

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DEFINITION OF "SANGING"
"Sanging" is a present tense English language verb that means "to sing very well, especially to sing soulfully very well"

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THIS SHOWCASE YOUTUBE ABOUT LASHUN PACE KICKING OFF HER SHOES WHILE SINGING THE GOSPEL SONG "I KNOW I'VE BEEN CHANGED 

Numbers added for referencing purposes only.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzMKZcoFTrM

2016

1. @empressmystique260
"You know it gets serious when the shoes come off. She went from singing to ministering in an instant. Anointed!!"

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2. @bakaribrown9642
''Lordt you know when the kitten heels come off. You gone be laid over in the spirit"
-snip-
Pancocojams edito's note: "Kitten heels" is a reference for women's shoes with a very small heel.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitten_heel ]

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3. @tiarrezachery
"lolllll"

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Reply
4. @iampeaches1924, 2017
"bakari brown lol lord Jesus I cracked up at kitten heels 😂😂"

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5. @BellaPenns,2018
"A year later, and we are still falling out at this comment! LOL!

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2017

6. @brickcitychick5404
"U know this Sista is sangin from the heart...and straight out of her church shoes! 😄😄 SAAANG!!!"

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7. @joliegarrett, 2019
"Now THAT'S SANGIN'!!! HALLELUJAH!!!"

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2018

8. @11sophiemarie
"In church, or any gospel event. When a big woman, in sequins or rhinestones, kicks off her shoes: oh the Holy Spirit is coming in and it's going to get real.

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9. @tashawnayoung3782
"Yes when them shoes come off its over

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10. @benjaminjeanes998
"Step in that water sister.. Amen"

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11. @cutetimesinfinity3368
"Yeah. You already know."

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12. "lilsparrow7845, 2018
"Lol....yup..".

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13. @atlsongbyrd6084, 2019
"Right! I saw Fantasia take her shoes off at Aretha Franklin's funeral and I knew it was about to be on and poppin lol!"

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14. @abigailvincent4909,2020
"Especially the kitten heels"

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15. @bridgettstrawbridge, 2020
"☝🏽🙏🏽🙌🏽✨✨✨ For Show 😅😅😅 GLORY TO "GOD"!!!"

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2019

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2020

@Gr8LilLady
16. "Daniel Hawkins, when they kick off dem shoes OH! It's gone down! If you don't believe Sista La Shaun Pace, then you Betta ask Sista Patti Labelle 🤣😳😍"

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@czahnie
17. "Those shoes came off and she stuck her whole foot in that song !"

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18. @PeaceNHairGrease
"👠🥿👡👢💪🏽🗣🗣🗣it’s time to sang"

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2021

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2022

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2023

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2024

19. @felicialockett6606
"SAAAAAAAAANG GIRL!!!!!!!!!  This never gets old...."

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20. @mamared41
"You already know its going down when the shoes come off"

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21. @DivaStylesbyTrish
"Good Lord she sings this song!"

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22. @sonwabosiyengele106
"When she took her shoes off and sang "I step in the water" 🙏❤️"

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2025

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2026

23. @kentglover1953
"It was over when she took off her shoes and stepped in the water!🙏🏽"

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24. @hattiethompson8540
"once them shoes come off...you will be delivered ❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏

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ADDENDUM #1- PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/09/patti-labelles-fantasias-custom-of.html "Patti LaBelle's & Fantasia's Custom Of Kicking Off Their Shoes or Taking Off Their Shoes During Their Performances (with two videos), September 2, 2018

Here are the links and titles for these YouTube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGmz0LIu9j0 "Fantasia Performs Musical Tribute (Aretha Franklin Memorial)", published by Alan Kahn, Aug 31, 2018

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhUPpChcSI "Patti Labelle - Isn't it a shame" ; golden0eye, Mar 10, 2007

Some commenters in these two videos' discussion threads suggest that taking off her shoes has become an expected feature of Patti LaBelle's "over the top" performances which also used to include rolling on the stage while continuing to sing.

A number of commenters write that Fantasia takes off her shoes because she is modeling her performance style after Patti LaBelle.

A few commenters wrote that the reason why these singers take off their shoes is to get comfortable.

At least one commenter wrote that Fantasia takes off her shoes because she's a country gal (from High Point, North Carolina). But, the "country gal" theory doesn't fit Patti LaBelle who is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

However, many commenters in these two featured discussion threads believe that Patti LaBelle and Fantasia remove their shoes because it is a Pentecostal church custom to do so. If I correctly understand what was written, those commenters indicated that people who take off their shoes are either feeling the Holy Spirit or they are getting ready to feel the Spirit, i.e. getting ready to "shout", "getting happy”, “going in”.

One interpretation of those comments* could be that when women feel like they are getting ready to "go in" i.e. "get happy", they take off their high heel shoes** so that they can do the Holy dance better (without less restraints). An explanation for this precaution is that when people are feeling the Spirit, in the "heat of that moment", they might hurt themselves or hurt someone else if their shoes go flying because they have "danced out of their shoes" (because they are dancing so energetically). To prevent this from occurring, a person who feels the Spirit coming on might prevent these mishaps by taking off their shoes.
-snip-
*As a Baptist from the Northern region of the United States, I have a few recollections of (mostly) women being supported by church nurses because they felt the Spirit. However, I've seen very few people (in my home church or any other Baptist of Methodist churches that I've attended) doing a holy dance, with or without their shoes on.

**The comments in those discussion threads about taking off your shoes when you are about to feel the Spirit appear to refer only to women (who presumably are wearing high heels, since that is almost always the shoe fashion for church or other formal occasions

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ADDENDUM #2- AI OVERVIEW
[retrieved on April 8, 2026]

"Patti LaBelle famously kicks off her shoes during live performances as an authentic, often spontaneous, showmanship move born from practical necessity. She has explained that the habit began when her feet (specifically a corn) hurt, forcing her to shed heels to perform comfortably, and it evolved into an iconic sign of passion and a way to connect with the audience.

Patti LaBelle’s Shoe Kick:

Origin: The 80-year-old diva confessed on the Sherri show that the habit started because her corn was hurting.

Significance: It serves as a sign of her "passing the shoe" or offering a completely uninhibited performance, often requested back at the end of the show.

Viral Moments: Many videos on YouTube and Facebook show her removing her shoes, sometimes throwing them, and sometimes having artists like Prince in the audience witness it.

Recent Events: She continued this tradition in 2023, performing barefoot while singing "If Only You Knew".

Fantasia's Performance Style:

Like LaBelle, Fantasia is known for extremely passionate, emotive, and visceral performances that often involve high-energy movements.

While Patti is specifically known for "kicking off" shoes, performers like Fantasia often remove shoes or perform barefoot to fully embody the raw emotion of a song, creating a similar "no-shoes" experience of raw, authentic performance.

Both artists use this technique to signify that they are letting go of inhibition, focusing entirely on delivering a raw, vocal performance."
-snip-
Notice that this AI Overview doesn't mention that the singers remove their shoes when they sing certain songs-especially Gospel songs-because they are feeling the Holy Spirit. As a result I think that this write-up is incomplete if not inaccurate.  

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This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

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