--- title: Jennifer Hudson Honored Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert description: Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to Aretha Franklin with a beautiful rendition of "Ain't No Way" at the Queen of Soul's tribute concert. canonical: https://time.com/5549164/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-song/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-11T17:24:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:01.494Z og:title: Jennifer Hudson Brings the House Down With Aretha Tribute og:description: Divas only og:url: https://time.com/5549164/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-song/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba0e1fd8d6acc0b7/6989468086f68e6aa76eb7d9/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-tribute-performance.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-OSCARS-FAN-ARRIVALS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jennifer Hudson Brings the House Down With Aretha Tribute twitter:description: Divas only twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba0e1fd8d6acc0b7/6989468086f68e6aa76eb7d9/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-tribute-performance.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jennifer Hudson Paid Tribute to Queen Aretha Franklin With the Most Beautiful Homage at Her Concert  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 11, 2019 5:24 PM CUT  US singer Jennifer Hudson arrives for the 91st Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 24, 2019\. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) US singer Jennifer Hudson arrives for the 91st Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 24, 2019\. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)Robyn Beck—AFP/Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 11, 2019 5:24 PM CUT Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to [Aretha Franklin](http://time.com/5365484/aretha-franklin-time-cover/ "undefined"), the inimitable Queen of Soul, with a beautiful performance of Franklin’s 1968 hit, “Ain’t No Way,” which earned a standing ovation during Sunday night’s _Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul._ Hudson initially opened the concert with Hudson performing “Respect” and “Think,” but it was Hudson’s emotional, moving homage to Franklin with “Ain’t No Way” that helped bring the house down. Hudson’s prominent role in the tribute concert was fitting, considering that she’ll be portraying Franklin in the upcoming biopic feature_,_ about the legendary singer appropriately titled _Respect_. According to [_Variety_](https://variety.com/2019/music/news/aretha-franklin-movie-respect-release-date-1203158716/ "undefined"), Hudson was personally selected by Franklin to portray her in the film before she passed, a compliment of the highest order when you consider Franklin’s [very high bar for anyone who could be considered a diva.](https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-aretha-franklin-proved-she-was-the-greatest-diva-ever "undefined") The tribute concert also included performances by Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Patti LaBelle, Janelle Monae, Yolanda Adams, Alicia Keys, SZA and John Legend. Watch Hudson honor Franklin with her gorgeous performance below. > [](https://twitter.com/thesoulprincess/status/1104930949865840640) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5549164/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-song/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5549164/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-song/"},"headline":"Jennifer Hudson Paid Tribute to Queen Aretha Franklin With the Most Beautiful Homage at Her Concert","datePublished":"2019-03-11T17:24:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:58:01.494Z","description":"Here's what you should know","url":"https://time.com/5549164/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-song/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba0e1fd8d6acc0b7/6989468086f68e6aa76eb7d9/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-tribute-performance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba0e1fd8d6acc0b7/6989468086f68e6aa76eb7d9/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-tribute-performance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-OSCARS-FAN-ARRIVALS","caption":"US-OSCARS-FAN-ARRIVALS","creditText":"Robyn Beck—AFP/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/5549164/jennifer-hudson-aretha-franklin-song/","name":"Jennifer Hudson Paid Tribute to Queen Aretha Franklin With the Most Beautiful Homage at Her Concert"}}]}] ```