Whoever did you root to score the top wins at this year’s AMAs, one thing that was certain was that a significant portion of the show would be dedicated to pay homage to one of the greatest American divas to have ever graced the stage – the late and great, Aretha Franklin.
After the show-stopping medley put together by BET for ‘Black Girls Rock’, American Music Awards pulled-together the likes of Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans and Mary Mary – to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul, who passed away this year after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
After a video montage of some of her greatest moments, Gladys Knight took the stage to commence a medley constituting of Aretha’s recordings from her 1972 released Gospel album, ‘Amazing Grace.’
Knight delivered a sweeping rendition of ‘Grace’, who was soon followed by McClurkin – who sang another classic gospel hymn, ‘Climb Higher Mountains.’
Gospel legend CeCe Winans then joined the stage to perform, ‘Mary Don’t You Weep’, and was followed by R&B powerhouse vocalist, Ledisi – who sang ‘How I Got Over.’
Mary Mary then concluded the ‘spiritual’ medley, with an all-star-assisted, ‘Old Landmark.’
Until the full tribute is made available, check out this 2-minute glimpse into the stellar homage: