Gospel legend Kim Burrell is turning heads with a recent video, but it isn’t her soulful singing that’s making her go viral.
The 53-year-old “Victory” singer is known for utilizing hairpieces and extensions, often for vibrant color changes or dramatic looks, fitting the gospel music scene’s dynamic styling for performances and photoshoots.
The Grammy-nominated gospel singer sent a very sweet message to wish New Orleans Bishop T. Delbert Robinson of Greater St. Stephen Church a special 50th birthday. But her much-altered appearance seemed more concerning to fans.
In a video shared on January 13, Robinson noted that the video was a surprise for his 50th birthday. He also thanked his wife, elder Jasmine Morton Robinson, and musician Derrick Starks for making the surprise happen.
Burrell looked noticeably different, wearing a black zip-up shirt paired with some tinted shades and a bedazzled Alo pendant on her right. She began by introducing herself and sharing kind words for the bishop before she began singing “Happy Birthday to You” a cappella.
Of course, she then sings “Happy Birthday” in the video, but it isn’t her God-given voice that had folks responding to the post; it’s her appearance.
“Y’all really got me GOOD right here,” Bishop wrote. “I’ve been fan since 99! I never would’ve imagined, some 25 years later, FOR MY 50th… I’d receive this??? Thank you, Kim Burrell, Derrick Starks-Music, and of course, my wife Jasmine ROCKS!”
However, Burrell fans are used to seeing her looking less trim than she appears in the birthday video, and several left comments under the post. The “Jesus” singer’s wig was also a hot topic in the comment section.
One fan couldn’t recognize the gospel singer.
“What happened?” said one person, while another wrote, “Oh wow, I didn’t even know that was her.. I thought this was a prank!”
While Burrell looked unrecognizable to some, other viewers couldn’t help but troll the singer’s seemingly ill-fitting wig. “I thought this was someone pretending to be her until she started singing,” added another confused fan.
Kim Burrell covers Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” after receiving backlash for her negative comments. pic.twitter.com/ePL90UMWa3
— jack da stripper (@cowboykilli) July 25, 2022
One fan promptly won over the internet after delivering an infamous line from the iconic 2006 film, Dreamgirls”: “Turn the wigs around! It’s sophisticated looking.”
Others piled on. “She got a whole Yorkie on her head,” one person joked, while another added after the clip replied on X, “Kim threw that wig up in the air and ran up under it.”
The roasting only intensified in the pastor’s comment section, leaving many stunned by how far it went. Some commenters leaned into speculation about her unkempt appearance, with one social media user writing, “I’m crying. Is she drunk?”
Burrell’s videos on Instagram feature the gospel singer visibly becoming more trim in 2023 and throughout 2025. She shared a video of herself singing with “Better Days” singer Travis Malloy in April 2025, and she is looking trim in a white top paired with black jeans.
Burrell told Essence magazine in 2020 that she decided to lose weight after having three heart attacks, and the weight loss has dramatically altered her life.
“It has changed me so that I now know that I should have desired to live physically better before now,” she said. “I had three heart attacks, and that’s nothing I would wish on my worst enemy. It’s painful, it’s degrading, and it caused me to come face to face with God about some things that I lacked.”
Burrell added that her then-8-year-old son’s reaction to her weight loss was her reward.
“Since losing the weight, it’s given me a new lease on life,” she continued. “Mainly, because people’s reaction to me is a whole lot different. People are highly discriminatory against overweight people.”
