Gladys Knight will pay tribute to the late Aretha Franklin at the American Music Awards.
The 74-year-old music icon will honour her friend – who passed away last month at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer – by singing a tribute inspired by the Queen of Soul’s gospel roots and her 1972 album ‘Amazing Grace’ at the ceremony which takes place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on October 9.
Sabrina Owens – Aretha’s niece and the executor of her estate – said in a statement: "When I heard some of the initial ideas for the tribute, I knew without a doubt that this tribute will go down as one of the best in American music."
Gladys performed both ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ at Aretha’s funeral and she later admitted she wasn’t sure if she would be able to get through the tracks without breaking down.
Appearing on UK TV show ‘This Morning’, she said: "I didn’t know if I’d get through that. But yeah, [I did it] for her. She was 14 and I was nine when we first met, and we’ve known each other for that long a time. We both lived in Detroit … We just had a wonderful, wonderful thing. Back in those days entertainers weren’t so competitive as they are now."
The ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ hitmaker and her friend – who were respectively known as the Goddess and Queen of Soul – lived just 10 minutes away from each other, and formed a close bond.
Other performers confirmed for this year’s AMAs include ‘I Like It’ rapper Cardi B, ‘Eastside’ hitmaker Halsey and ‘GTFO’ songstress, Mariah Carey.
Gladys Knight to honour Aretha Franklin at AMAs
