Grace Franklin, 15, showcased her musical talents and paid tribute to her grandmother, the late Queen of Soul, when she auditioned for American Idolduring Sunday’s episode.
Before performing Aretha’s classic “Ain’t No Way” and the Lauryn Hill version of “Killing Me Softly,” Grace revealed her relation to Aretha to judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.
“Stop right there. That is your grandma?” said a surprised Richie. He then reminisced about his friendship with Franklin and shared that he has kept voicemails from the “Respect” singer.
Richie and Bryan voted “no” after listening to Grace perform the songs. Perry gave Grace a “yes,” adding that the high school student from Detroit, Michigan had “stardust” and “sparkle” on her.
Richie gave Grace advice telling her to put more time and work into practicing.
“Grace Franklin, I love you and I think the best thing for you in life is to take a shot at going backwards. Go back and get a running start and come at this again,” he said as Perry urged her fellow judge to “give her a shot.”
“Give her a chance. I am sure Aretha wasn’t Aretha when she walked in the room, but somebody said ‘yes, I want to work with you. I want to develop you. You got something,’ ” said Perry.
That wasn’t enough for Richie to change his mind.
“Go back and put the shyness behind you and the voice in front of you, you are going to be something amazing,” said Richie offering advice to Grace.
In a prerecorded clip on American Idol, Grace talked about her relationship with her grandmother.
“I don’t think I could fully grasp the fact that she was famous worldwide,” said Grace. “Because to me she was always grandma… I was really close to my grandma. I got to see her all the time. I got to travel with her a lot.”
Grace also asserted that she has her own style as an artist.
“I feel like people expect me to sing exactly like her, but I am my own artist and I have my own voice,” said Grace.
Aretha died in 2018 at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer.
Watch Grace’s performance below.
https://youtu.be/_-w15cQwIgI
