Last Updated on April 29, 2012 by
Few award shows have enough cachet to attract the likes of Aretha Franklin – usually, the Queen of Soul only shows up to events like the Grammy Awards. But somehow, the TV Land Awards convinced the legendary singer to appear on its program Sunday night, where the 70-year-old performed live and received the TV Land Icon Award.
“There is only one Queen of Soul. Her title is undisputed. Her reign will never end,” Grammy-winning musician John Legend said by way of introduction. “Aretha is nothing short of an American treasure. She’s done it all with soul and style.”
Legend sang a portion of Franklin’s “I Say a Little Prayer” to great applause, and then out came Aretha, wearing a long, loose white gown. She sang her classic hit “Respect,” which had the tv stars in attendance standing and dancing. Her performance was every bit as good as when we saw her live last year at the Chicago Theatre.
Franklin gave a short speech, thanking TV Land and referencing one of Legend’s songs. “It’s the icon award, but in Mr. Legend’s own words, we’re just ordinary people,” she gushed.
