ET spoke with the 79-year-old music legend over Zoom on Tuesday.
Dionne Warwick is opening up about her newfound love for social media, and what it's like being called "the queen of Twitter."
When ET spoke with the 79-year-old music legend over Zoom on Tuesday, she addressed everything from her tweets going viral to what really inspired her to start roasting celebs like Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd over their stage names.
"I find it quite amusing," Warwick told ET's Denny Directo, of her new "queen of Twitter" title. "After COVID-19 shut down the entertainment industry, I've been home since March just kind of utilizing this [time] as sort of a vacation, something I've never had in all these years. I got to know my home, I got to sleep in my own bed, and make my own meals when I wanted them."
"But then after a while, that becomes old, and I noticed how much fun my nieces and nephews were having with this thing called tweeting," she continued. "I said, 'Well, how can I do it? I wanna do it.'"
Warwick cleared the air this week -- after seeing some "foolishness" in her replies, she confirmed in a video posted to Twitter that she is indeed the one tweeting out her own messages, and "getting very good at it." The singer shared that it was specifically her niece, Brittani, who inspired her to get on Twitter.
"She showed me how and I've been having the best time," Warwick told ET. "Just kind of, you know, being me!"
After tweeting to Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd -- asking them why they have "the" in their stage names -- Warwick received some heartwarming responses back. Both entertainers said they felt honored to just be acknowledged by such a legendary musician.
"Oh, it was so cute. [Chance] said, 'I can't believe you know who I am,'" she recalled. "Of course I know who you are! And fortunately I had the pleasure of speaking with him."
"We had a lovely phone conversation, and I've got a new friend! What a wonderful young man," she added. "What he's doing for the babies, and what he's doing for the homeless, Chicago should be honoring him every day of their lives. When you find youngsters who care that much, it's quite a privilege, I find, for me to even know him."
Turns out, Warwick and Chance are now going to record a song together for charity. "Dionne The Singer and @chancetherapper are coming together to do a bit of good," she tweeted shortly after our interview wrapped. "That’s what it’s all about."
Warwick also praised The Weeknd for his talents, telling ET she thinks it's "fabulous" he was chosen as the 2021 Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show performer.
"They couldn't have chosen a better person to do," she raved. "I'm going to be watching on TV, like everybody else."
In addition to celebrating her viral tweets, Warwick is also gearing up for another big milestone -- her 80th birthday on Saturday! She told ET she wants to use the day to give back, so she's hosting a livestream Christmas Special Concert. Portions of ticket proceeds from the livestream, airing Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, will benefit Hunger: Not Impossible.
"They've been doing some magnificent things for quite a few months, feeding people who cannot feed themselves," Warwick said of the organization. "They asked if I would lend my voice towards it and I said, 'Of course I will.' So I'm sort of an ambassador for them."
"My son decided he was going to give me a virtual birthday party. I give myself a huge party every year, and this one would have been massive, believe me," she continued. "I also give myself a birthday gift every year, and this year I felt, 'Well, OK. My gift to me is my gift of giving.' So we designed packages where you can join my party and hang out with me. It's gonna be a bunch of fun! Just laid-back, nothing over the top. Just a good old-fashioned time with friends."
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