The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin will be honored at the 53rd annual Grammy awards Sunday, Feb. 13. The tribute will be performed by artists from different genres of music. In the tribute lineup are Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, Grammy winner Christina Aguilera, Gospel singer Yolanda Adams and Grammy nominee Florence Welch. Country star Martina McBride will also perform. The group will open the Grammys performing many of Aretha Franklin’s hit songs.
Some of Franklin’s songs that are well known are “Respect,” which was her first number one hit; “Chain of Fools;” “Precious Lord,” which she sang at Mahalia Jackson’s funeral; “I say a Little Prayer;” “Natural Woman;” and “Let It Be.” She has a total of 45 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
This year’s Grammy is dedicated to Aretha Franklin as a musical valentine and get-well card after her yearlong illness and surgery for alleged pancreatic cancer. She is an 18-time Grammy winner and a two-time honorary Grammy winner. Aretha Franklin is also a recipient of the Grammy Legend Award and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Grammys will also feature Best New Artist nominee Esperanza Spalding. She will be performing with the Grammy Jazz Ensembles and Grammy camp. All of the artists are honored to perform for Franklin.
Aretha Franklin will not be attending the Grammys, but will be watching from home. She will have a taped segment during the ceremony which will make her a part of the program. She has a good chance to bring home another award. She is up for an award this year for best R&B performance by a duo/group which she performed with Ron Isley for “You’ve Got a Friend.”
Franklin was told by her doctor to take six months off. She had to cancel all of her concerts through the spring of this year. The singer had a medical procedure in December that allegedly confirmed that she had cancer. During a telephone conversation on Channel 4 in Detroit, Franklin stated that she was doing fine and she plan on performing again soon.
Christina Aguilera, a four-time Grammy winner, recently messed up the lyrics to the “Star-Spangled Banner” when she performed at the Super Bowl. Franklin was kind in her response, saying Aguilera did a “beautiful job” at the Super Bowl. Jennifer Hudson has won numerous awards. She has also managed to lose 60 pounds. Fans are sure to notice Hudson’s weight loss during the Grammys. Yolanda Adams has won four Grammy awards. Florence Welch is a Grammy nominee this year for Best New Artist. Martina McBride is a Grammy winner.
