*A number of celebrities gathered for a tribute concert in celebration of the Queen Of Soul on Sunday, Jan. 13, and The AP reports that every rendition of Aretha’s Franklin’s songs brought audience members to their feet at the “Aretha! A GRAMMY Celebration For The Queen Of Soul” in Los Angeles.
According to Page Six, a montage of the late singer was shown throughout the show including one with onscreen quotes from former President Barack Obama, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson and Tony Bennett.
“Aretha set the bar,” a quote from Quincy Jones read.
Jennifer Hudson, who will star in Franklin’s biopic “Respect,” kicked off the tribute with a performance of “Think” and Keys and SZA took the stage for a duet of “Day Dreaming.”
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Here are additional highlights via Page Six:
Celion Dion performed Franklin’s version of “A Change is Gonna Come,” and Patti Labelle served up a soaring rendition of “Call Me.”
Fantasia, Andra Day, Brandi Carlile and Alessia Cara sang “Natural Woman” together, and Common joined Yolanda Adams for a performance of “Young, Gifted and Black.”
Smokey Robinson told the star-studded audience at the Shrine Auditorium that Franklin “was a gifted songwriter, a fantastic musician and a great formidable activist,” he said. “For me, she was my little sister who I loved so much. I still love her so much. But she’s gone home now to be with her father. I believe she has been reunited with her entire immediate family.”
The tribute was organized by the Recording Academy and music mogul Clive Davis, who told the crowd “There will never ever be another Aretha Franklin.”
Other performers included Shirley Caesar, Kelly Clarkson, Chloe X Halle, H.E.R., John Legend and BeBe Winans.
ET’s Nischelle Turner caught up with Dion at the event, who discussed her relationship with Franklin and what she learned from her.
“I’ve had the privilege of singing at [VH1’s] Divas with her and when I had one moment, I had one line I was not gonna mess on that,” she explained of her performance with the music icon in 1998. “I had a moment with her that I will never forget and I will cherish this for the rest of my life… I remember taking a picture with her after meeting with her, singing her [songs] of course, and when you love to sing so much, it’s gotta be done with the soul.”
The 50-year-old Canadian further explained how Franklin inspired her.
“You sing with your heart but she has taught us that, when we believe so much, that it comes from deeper than the heart, it comes from the soul,” she said. “So we did not invent those words, she gave those words. She put those words into our repertoire, into our lives and dreams…our performances.”
“I feel extremely, extremely fortunate and honored that they called me to pay tribute to her because I think that we all took through the years a little part of her,” she added. “We did not sing her tonight, we lived her.”
Franklin died in August at the age of 76 in her home in Detroit, Michigan, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
The concert event will air March 10 on CBS.
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