Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement: 'I Am Retiring This Year'

Aretha Franklin has announced she will be retiring this year.

The 74-year-old legendary singer told Detroit TV station Local 4 the news.

“I must tell you, I am retiring this year….This will be my last year. I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it,” Aretha said, adding she will do “some select things…one a month, for six months out of the year.”

Aretha does plan to record one more album before retiring from performing in concert.

“Of course, several of the songs are going to be produced by Stevie [Wonder], and of course there’s only one Stevie, right? It’s kind of multi-[directional]. We’re not pigeonholed to any one thing,” she said, talking about the album, which will be released in September.

This new album will be her first since 2014′s Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics. It will be her 42nd total album.