--- ---  # Ariana Grande Pays Tribute to Aretha Franklin With Emotional Performance of 'Natural Woman' by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Aug 17, 2018 3:20 PM UTC  Aretha Franklin performs onstage at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Commemorates Its 25th Year And Honors Founder Sir Elton John During New York Fall Gala at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on November 7, 2017 in New York City. Aretha Franklin performs onstage at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Commemorates Its 25th Year And Honors Founder Sir Elton John During New York Fall Gala at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on November 7, 2017 in New York City.Dimitrios Kambouris—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Aug 17, 2018 3:20 PM UTC When news broke that legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin had [died](http://time.com/5365353/aretha-franklin-dies/), tributes poured in from around the globe. Ariana Grande did one better. She stopped by _The Tonight Show_ on Thursday night to perform a song in [the singer’s honor](http://time.com/5367138/aretha-franklin-appreciation/). Backed by _The Tonight Show_‘s house band, The Roots, Grande paid tribute to the late Queen of Soul with a performance of the song Franklin made famous, “Natural Woman.” [_Variety_ reports ](https://variety.com/2018/music/news/ariana-grande-aretha-franklin-tonight-show-tribute-1202908459/) that The Roots band leader Questlove had to convince Grande to perform the tune. Grande was reportedly concerned that she was “too emotional” to pull it off. While she did manage to deliver a heartfelt homage to Franklin, Grande left the stage in tears after garnering a standing ovation for the performance. Originally, [Grande](http://time.com/5369111/pete-davidson-ariana-groceries/) was not slated to perform on _The Tonight Show._ She was only meant to appear briefly to promote her new album _Sweetener_, which dropped at midnight. At the last minute, Grande opted to include a performance, as well. Earlier in the day, Grande shared a photo she’d taken with the late singer. Ariana Grande's Tribute to Aretha Franklin on Tonight Show ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5369270/ariana-grande-aretha-franklin-tonight-show/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5369270/ariana-grande-aretha-franklin-tonight-show/"},"headline":"Ariana Grande Pays Tribute to Aretha Franklin With Emotional Performance of 'Natural Woman'","datePublished":"2018-08-17T15:20:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:21.960Z","description":"She left the stage in tears after performing \"Natural Woman\" on The Tonight Show","url":"https://time.com/5369270/ariana-grande-aretha-franklin-tonight-show/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ce3a6b023ef7e1/698937a8db2987480726069d/180813-aretha-franklin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ce3a6b023ef7e1/698937a8db2987480726069d/180813-aretha-franklin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"180813-aretha-franklin","caption":"Elton John AIDS Foundation Commemorates Its 25th Year And Honors Founder Sir Elton John During New York Fall Gala - Show","creditText":"Dimitrios Kambouris—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5369270/ariana-grande-aretha-franklin-tonight-show/","name":"Ariana Grande Pays Tribute to Aretha Franklin With Emotional Performance of 'Natural Woman'"}}]}] ```