Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, and John Legend will gather to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin at a concert in January.
Tyler Perry is hosting Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul and the artists will perform her hit songs like Respect, Chain of Fools, and (You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The TV special will air later next year.
Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Common, Alicia Keys, Patti LaBelle, BeBe Winans, Brandi Carlile, Chloe X Halle, H.E.R., Janelle Monae, SZA, and Jennifer Hudson, who performed at Franklin’s funeral in August (18), will also be featured at the event.
Earlier this month (Dec18), Clarkson opened up about how Aretha’s music helped her overcome her childhood shyness.
‘When I was little I just had such a hard time communicating, which is actually why I started to write before I even could sing,” Kelly said during U.S. TV special 2018: In Memoriam. “It was just to get my emotions (out), and because I was afraid to let down walls because so many crappy things happened. Aretha was the one singer that reached real down in me. Then it was like, ‘It’s OK to cry, it’s OK to be mad at something, it’s OK to get through something.'”
‘I feel like she’s the reason why I’m not so shy,” she continued. “I was terribly shy when I was a kid… just afraid to do anything because I was afraid to be embarrassed. And now I’m the complete opposite. Music really did give me that confidence and she really did stir something inside me that broke down those barriers that I had built up as a child.’
Dion also paid tribute to the late singer, who passed away of pancreatic cancer, writing: “She was an unbelievable artist, who inspired me and millions of others. She was the most soulful and inspirational singer of our time… There will never be anyone like her. I had the great privilege of performing with Aretha… It was truly one of the greatest moments of my career.”
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