While a few Ariana Grande fans complained that Aretha Franklin had inconveniently scheduled her death, the songstress herself took time to pay respect to the late Queen of Soul even on the eve of her new album’s release. While she was originally scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show briefly to promote her album Sweetener dropping at midnight, Grande expanded her appearance at the last minute to include a performance of “Natural Woman†accompanied by the Roots. Variety reports that Grande had to be convinced to sing the song by Questlove, because she was worried she was “too emotional†to pull it off. She ended up leaving the stage in tears when the performance received a standing ovation. Earlier in the day, Grande shared a photo she’d taken with the late singer. Franklin passed away on Thursday following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Ariana Grande and the Roots Pay Tribute to Aretha Franklin
