The late Aretha Franklin will be honored at the upcoming 2018 American Music Awards.
ABC has announced that the Queen of Soul’s friends, Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and CeCe Winans, will take the AMAs stage for a moving tribute honoring her gospel roots and iconic gospel album, Amazing Grace.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the American Music Awards, dick clark productions and American Music Awards’ producer, Larry Klein, for honoring Aretha Franklin with a musical tribute for this year’s broadcast,” Sabrina Owens, Aretha’s niece and executor of the Aretha Franklin Estate, said in a statement. “Throughout its 46-year history, the American Music Awards has continued to stand by the music and honor the best in talent and the greatest in popular music culture. 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.”
Sabrina added, “We still remember when Aretha won her first American Music Award in 1976 for Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B, and throughout the years, she went on to win five more awards and we will never forget when she hosted the show; as well as her memorable performances. Dick Clark helped to revolutionize American music, and along the way, Aretha Franklin was part of that revolution.”
The show will air on Tuesday, October 9th at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.