Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty While there was MUCH to discuss about the tribute to Motown at the 61st Grammy Awards, one tribute that felt brief but powerful was the one for the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin who passed away last year at 76. Yolanda Adams , Fantasia and Andra Day stood side by side as they belted out Aretha’s signature 1967 hit “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. Each woman took a particular verse before coming together to a fiery, impactful finale. Adams previously paid tribute to Franklin with a performance of “Mary Don’t You Weep” at her funeral last August. You can watch the performance of “A Natural Woman” below. Powerful tribute to the late Aretha Franklin! Yolanda Adams, Fantasia, and Audra Day did that! #Grammys pic.twitter.com/jCbtpcw0M5 — Opinionated Me (@opinion8dmecom) February 11, 2019 RELATED: Diana Ross Performs A Tribute To Herself At 2019 Grammy Awards [VIDEO] RELATED: 2019 Grammy Awards Winners List
Source: PapCulture / Splash News Ain’t she beautiful with all that hair down? Ariana Grande was spotted in NYC looking TF good on this hot and muggy Friday afternoon. In thigh high boots and a sweatshirt, she isn’t necessarily dressed for the warm weather, but at this point we’re just here to appreciate her departure from the ponytail. The superstar singer’s new album, Sweetener , dropped today and as you can see in the photo above, she’s been repping it to the fullest with a cute bag we wouldn’t mind rocking at all. Posting the pic on IG, Ariana captioned the paparazzi moment “Happy Sweetener Day” while fans left comments about her luscious locks. Back in 2014, Ariana explained that her hair was so badly damaged from dye she couldn’t wear it out. She wrote on social media: “Since people give me such a hard time about my hair I thought I’d take the time to explain the whole situation to everybody. I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first four years of playing Cat… as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair. I now wear a wig on Sam & Cat. My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down. I tried wigs, they looked RIDICULOUS. Tried a weave because I am working on a new project and want to try some different looks and literally wanted to rip my scalp off. So as annoying as it is for y’all to have to look at the same hairstyle all the time, it’s all that works for now (AND I’m comfortable for the first time in years)…. And trust me, it’s even more difficult for me to have to wait forever for my natural hair to grow back and to have to wear more fake hair than every drag queen on earth combined. So PLEASE gimme a break about the hair (or just don’t look at me lol). IT’S JUST HAIR AFTER ALL. There are way way way more important things. Love y’all very much.” So, long story short, we don’t get to see her hair down often. But Ariana is a bad, bad b*tch with her pony too so win, win: Aside from her highly-anticipated album dropping, our girl is also making headlines for her emotional tribute to the late Aretha Franklin on Thursday, August 17. While on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , she performed “A Natural Woman” and it was so good, she got a standing ovation by the end of it. See that below, plus more photos of Ariana out and about in NYC on the flip.
Source: PapCulture / Splash News Ain’t she beautiful with all that hair down? Ariana Grande was spotted in NYC looking TF good on this hot and muggy Friday afternoon. In thigh high boots and a sweatshirt, she isn’t necessarily dressed for the warm weather, but at this point we’re just here to appreciate her departure from the ponytail. The superstar singer’s new album, Sweetener , dropped today and as you can see in the photo above, she’s been repping it to the fullest with a cute bag we wouldn’t mind rocking at all. Posting the pic on IG, Ariana captioned the paparazzi moment “Happy Sweetener Day” while fans left comments about her luscious locks. Back in 2014, Ariana explained that her hair was so badly damaged from dye she couldn’t wear it out. She wrote on social media: “Since people give me such a hard time about my hair I thought I’d take the time to explain the whole situation to everybody. I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first four years of playing Cat… as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair. I now wear a wig on Sam & Cat. My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down. I tried wigs, they looked RIDICULOUS. Tried a weave because I am working on a new project and want to try some different looks and literally wanted to rip my scalp off. So as annoying as it is for y’all to have to look at the same hairstyle all the time, it’s all that works for now (AND I’m comfortable for the first time in years)…. And trust me, it’s even more difficult for me to have to wait forever for my natural hair to grow back and to have to wear more fake hair than every drag queen on earth combined. So PLEASE gimme a break about the hair (or just don’t look at me lol). IT’S JUST HAIR AFTER ALL. There are way way way more important things. Love y’all very much.” So, long story short, we don’t get to see her hair down often. But Ariana is a bad, bad b*tch with her pony too so win, win: Aside from her highly-anticipated album dropping, our girl is also making headlines for her emotional tribute to the late Aretha Franklin on Thursday, August 17. While on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , she performed “A Natural Woman” and it was so good, she got a standing ovation by the end of it. See that below, plus more photos of Ariana out and about in NYC on the flip.
The Queen of Soul is no longer with us. On Thursday, August 16, arguably the greatest singer of all-time passed away when Aretha Franklin died of pancreatic cancer at her home in Detroit. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more respected and influential artist. It's as simple as that. Probably best known for her cover of Otis Redding’s classic Respect, as well as other hits such as “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Think,” Frankli received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named in 2010 by Rolling Stone as the best singer in history. In the wake of Franklin's passing, pretty much every star on the planet took to social media and sent their condolences, while a few also shared their personal memories and interactions with Franklin. Scroll down to see what they had to say… 1. Elton John 2. Diana Ross 3. Barbara Streisand 4. John Legend 5. Hillary Clinton 6. Hugh Jackman View Slideshow
Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement First Anita Baker and now this! Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin says she’s ready to retire this year. The iconic songstress told Click On Detroit , that she plans to “retire” this year after the release of her new album after more than 56 years in the music business. “I must tell you, I am retiring this year,” the ‘Natural Woman’ singer said. Franklin said she is excited about her latest (and last) album and “can’t wait to get in the studio.” The album is expected to be released in the Fall, with a tour that includes only select dates. She won’t have more than one date planned per month, and the full tour will last “maybe for six months.” This will be my last year,” Franklin said. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.” She’s not retiring completely. She said she will do “some select things, many one a month, for six months out of the year.” But she said her grandchildren are leaving for college and she wants to spend time with them. We’ll always love you, Aretha!
An elementary school music teacher, Gregory Eldred, allegedly shot his ex-wife while she played the organ during church service in Pennsylvania last weekend. After leaving briefly, he then returned and shot her again to ensure she was dead. Congregants eventually overpowered Eldred, ending the shooting Sunday at the First United Presbyterian Church of Coudersport, 140 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The shooting was detailed in a criminal complaint filed Monday against Eldred, who remains jailed without bond on first-degree murder and other charges. Eldred’s attorney didn’t return messages seeking comment. Eldred’s ex-wife, 53-year-old Darlene Sitler, the choir director, was seated at the organ when she was shot about 20 minutes into the 11 a.m. service, state police said. Pastor Evon Lloyd told police that Eldred entered the church wearing a hooded, beige jacket and “leveled a gun at the victim and shot,” according to the complaint. The woman then fell into the organ pit. Eldred quickly left the building and put a handgun on the hood of his vehicle while those inside called 911 and aided Sitler. Another witness, Leslie Rolfe, said that Eldred picked up the gun about five minutes later, while Rolfe tried to hold the church doors shut but couldn’t. Rolfe and his wife, Dr. Beverly Prince, tried to persuade Eldred to drop his gun, but he instead threatened to shoot them and the pastor, telling Prince “I want to finish this.” Eldred then walked toward his ex-wife saying, “I got to see her. I got to see if she’s dead,” before firing two more shots at Sitler, the complaint said. Police said nobody else was hurt, though Eldred’s gun went off once when Rolfe and other members of the congregation struggled to subdue Eldred and take his gun. Continue reading about the Pennsylvania church shooting tragedy …
With the stakes high and little margin for error, The Voice’s remaining six contenders gave it their all Monday in hopes of advancing to the NBC show’s final four. Even though the coaches’ teams have little relevance anymore – Christina doesn’t even have one left – it was a good night for Entertainer of the Year Blake Shelton. Cassadee Pope – Stand (The Voice) Terry McDermott – Stay with Me (The Voice) Cassadee Pope continued to shine as one of the favorites, looking, acting and sounding the part of a star, while Terry McDermott may have had the best night of all. Watch all the performances from last night here and give us your take: Cassadee Pope – I’m with You (The Voice) Terry McDermott – I Want to Know What Love Is (The Voice) Team Adam Levine’s Amanda Brown and Melanie Martinez: Amanda Brown – Here I Go Again (The Voice) Melanie Martinez – The Show (The Voice) Melanie Martinez – Crazy (The Voice) Amanda Brown – Natural Woman (The Voice) Team Cee Lo Green’s Nicholas David and Trevin Hunte: Nicholas David – September (The Voice) Trevin Hunte – Walking on Sunshine (The Voice) Trevin Hunte – And I’m Telling You (The Voice) Nicholas David – Somewhere Over the Rainbow (The Voice ) Which performance above was your favorite? Your least favorite? Let us know who you think should be going home on Tuesday, and vote in our poll below: Who should win The Voice of the Top 6? Cassadee Pope (Team Blake) Terry McDermott (Team Blake) Trevin Hunte (Team Cee Lo) Nicholas David (Team Cee Lo) Melanie Martinez (Team Adam) Amanda Brown (Team Adam) View Poll »
Adele is finally getting her time in the spotlight over here in the U.S. where she was recently interviewed by both Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly . She tells Rolling Stone of her first time meeting Beyonce : “I was about to meet Beyonce and I had a full-blown anxiety attack. Then she popped in looking gorgeous, and said, ‘You’re amazing! When I listen to you I feel like I’m listening to God.’ Can you believe she said that?” She also gave Entertainment Weekly a list of the top 8 songs on her iPod, naming Rihanna ‘s “What’s My Name” as one of them: “Over New Year’s and Christmas, I had time off and I went to all my friends’ parties singing it. Doing the dance moves, I was convinced I was Rihanna. She was possessing me with that song. I swear.” We love to see females respecting females! Soulful Singer Adele Covers Aretha Franklin’s “A Natural Woman” On VH1 Unplugged Beyonce Turns Superhero For New Video [PHOTOS] Rihanna “Hates” Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom [AUDIO]
Chart-topping Brit’s set premieres Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on VH1.com. By James Montgomery Adele Photo: MTV News She’s already got an armload of Grammys , the #1 album in the country and a line of admirers that stretches from Los Angeles to London, but all Adele has ever really wanted is her own “Unplugged.” On Thursday (March 3), she’ll finally get hers, when “VH1 Unplugged: Adele” premieres on VH1.com at 7 p.m. ET, and then airs on the network proper the following night, at 11 p.m. ET. For a singer who’s already accomplished so much in 22 short years, you’d think that filming “Unplugged” would be just another stop along her road to success. But you’d be wrong. To hear Adele tell it, “Unplugged” is the culmination of a dream that started nearly a decade ago. “My favorite one is the Lauryn Hill one; I’ve got that one on CD as well,” she told MTV News. “I’ve never been so choked up by something, and it was so refreshing — I mean, I was still very young when she did her ‘Unplugged,’ and when Miseducation … came out, I was really young, but that is the most influential record of my life. It’s my favorite record of all time. But I never knew anything about her, she was so elusive … but just to see her [on ‘Unplugged’], and that broken look, just her and a guitar, her banter between the songs — I felt like how I feel when I hear Etta James. I was just like, ‘I totally get it. She’s in my head, she’s in my heart, she knows me.’ “It’s quite a special moment when you suddenly have that link and bond with an artist, and I finally got that with her, when I heard that,” she continued. “So yeah, it was a complete joy [to do my own episode].” Bits and pieces of Adele’s “Unplugged” set — including a soulful take on Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman” — have already been rolling out on the VH1 blog , and the full performance includes songs from both her 19 and 21 albums. Adele definitely seemed to be channeling not only the spirit of the immortal Aretha during the Harlem taping of the show, but her icon Hill too. Trust us, you don’t want to miss a minute of it. She gets emotional on “Someone Like You” and fiery on “Rolling in the Deep.” In fact, the whole thing feels very much like a dream come true, probably because it was. Trust us, you don’t want to miss a minute of it. Related Artists Adele
Chart-topping Brit’s set premieres Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on VH1.com. By James Montgomery Adele Photo: MTV News She’s already got an armload of Grammys , the #1 album in the country and a line of admirers that stretches from Los Angeles to London, but all Adele has ever really wanted is her own “Unplugged.” On Thursday (March 3), she’ll finally get hers, when “VH1 Unplugged: Adele” premieres on VH1.com at 7 p.m. ET, and then airs on the network proper the following night, at 11 p.m. ET. For a singer who’s already accomplished so much in 22 short years, you’d think that filming “Unplugged” would be just another stop along her road to success. But you’d be wrong. To hear Adele tell it, “Unplugged” is the culmination of a dream that started nearly a decade ago. “My favorite one is the Lauryn Hill one; I’ve got that one on CD as well,” she told MTV News. “I’ve never been so choked up by something, and it was so refreshing — I mean, I was still very young when she did her ‘Unplugged,’ and when Miseducation … came out, I was really young, but that is the most influential record of my life. It’s my favorite record of all time. But I never knew anything about her, she was so elusive … but just to see her [on ‘Unplugged’], and that broken look, just her and a guitar, her banter between the songs — I felt like how I feel when I hear Etta James. I was just like, ‘I totally get it. She’s in my head, she’s in my heart, she knows me.’ “It’s quite a special moment when you suddenly have that link and bond with an artist, and I finally got that with her, when I heard that,” she continued. “So yeah, it was a complete joy [to do my own episode].” Bits and pieces of Adele’s “Unplugged” set — including a soulful take on Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman” — have already been rolling out on the VH1 blog , and the full performance includes songs from both her 19 and 21 albums. Adele definitely seemed to be channeling not only the spirit of the immortal Aretha during the Harlem taping of the show, but her icon Hill too. Trust us, you don’t want to miss a minute of it. She gets emotional on “Someone Like You” and fiery on “Rolling in the Deep.” In fact, the whole thing feels very much like a dream come true, probably because it was. Trust us, you don’t want to miss a minute of it. Related Artists Adele
