--- title: Watch Ariana Grande Sing at Aretha Franklin's Funeral description: For Aretha Franklin's funeral in Detroit, 'Sweetener' star Ariana Grande stepped in to pay tribute to the late singer with her own music. canonical: https://time.com/5384105/ariana-grande-aretha-funeral/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-31T16:40:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:15.065Z og:title: Ariana Grande Sings Powerful 'Natural Woman' Tribute to Aretha Franklin at Her Funeral og:description: The 'Sweetener' singer paid tribute to the late Queen of Soul og:url: https://time.com/5384105/ariana-grande-aretha-funeral/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce0004ce67d04ee9/698939378fd2ee73c035c853/ariana-grande.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2018 iHeartRadio Wango Tango By AT&T - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ariana Grande Sings Powerful 'Natural Woman' Tribute to Aretha Franklin at Her Funeral twitter:description: The 'Sweetener' singer paid tribute to the late Queen of Soul twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce0004ce67d04ee9/698939378fd2ee73c035c853/ariana-grande.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ariana Grande Sings Powerful 'Natural Woman' Tribute to Aretha Franklin at Her Funeral  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 31, 2018 4:40 PM UTC  Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Wango Tango by AT&T at Banc of California Stadium on June 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Wango Tango by AT&T at Banc of California Stadium on June 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.Rich Polk—Getty Images for iHeartMedia  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 31, 2018 4:40 PM UTC On Friday, friends, family and fans of music legend [Aretha Franklin](http://time.com/5383907/aretha-franklin-casket-arrives-ahead-of-funeral/) gathered at Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple to pay tribute to the late singer [at her funeral](http://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/). The celebration of the life of the Queen of Soul drew serious star power, from former President Bill Clinton to actors Tyler Perry and Cicely Tyson to Franklin’s fellow musicians like Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khan. [Ariana Grande,](http://time.com/collection-post/5277962/ariana-grande-next-generation-leaders/) one of contemporary pop music’s biggest stars, also took to the time to pay her respects to the “Respect” icon. Grande, who recently released chart-topping new album [_Sweetener_](http://time.com/5337217/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-57/item/god-is-a-woman-ariana-grande/) and is known for her powerhouse voice, appeared at the service to perform Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” to honor her legacy.  Former US President Bill Clinton takes a picture with singer Ariana Grande and her fiancee Pete Davidson at Aretha Franklin's funeral at Greater Grace Temple on August 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. ANGELA WEISS—AFP/Getty Images Grande’s performance followed remarks from many of Michigan’s political leaders, including Governor Rick Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. The singer arrived along [with her fiancé](http://time.com/5373817/celebrity-couples/), the comedian [Pete Davidson](http://time.com/5374564/ariana-grande-pete-davidson-photo/), and was spotted prior to taking the stage snapping photos with both Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton. This isn’t the first time Grande has recognized the legacy of Franklin recently, either; she sang “Natural Woman” on the _Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon_ [earlier in August](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN6C%5FWuEbGI) as well. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5384105/ariana-grande-aretha-funeral/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5384105/ariana-grande-aretha-funeral/"},"headline":"Ariana Grande Sings Powerful 'Natural Woman' Tribute to Aretha Franklin at Her Funeral","datePublished":"2018-08-31T16:40:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:15.065Z","description":"For Aretha Franklin's funeral in Detroit, 'Sweetener' star Ariana Grande stepped in to pay tribute to the late singer with her own music.","url":"https://time.com/5384105/ariana-grande-aretha-funeral/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Aretha Franklin","Ariana Grande","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce0004ce67d04ee9/698939378fd2ee73c035c853/ariana-grande.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce0004ce67d04ee9/698939378fd2ee73c035c853/ariana-grande.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2018 iHeartRadio Wango Tango By AT&T - Show","caption":"2018 iHeartRadio Wango Tango By AT&T - Show","creditText":"Rich Polk—Getty Images for iHeartMedia","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/5384105/ariana-grande-aretha-funeral/","name":"Ariana Grande Sings Powerful 'Natural Woman' Tribute to Aretha Franklin at Her Funeral"}}]}] ```