Aretha Franklin’s Granddaughter Auditions for ‘American Idol’
Music legend Aretha Franklin’s granddaughter tried out for american idoland her audition caused a bit of drama with the judges.
Grace Franklin, the 15-year-old daughter of Franklin’s son Kecalf, stood before judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie to prove she has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of her legendary grand- mother.
The teenager reflected on the heavy expectations that come with his relationship with the Queen of Soul. “I feel like people expect me to sing exactly like her,” Grace said. “But I am my own artist, and I have my own voice.”
She showed it with an impressive rendition of Lauryn Hill’s “Killing Me Softly.” As she delivered vocals for days, Richie pointed out that Grace was so nervous that she kept her eyes closed for the entire performance.
“It was sweet,” Perry agreed. When she asked Grace if she had anything else to sing, Grace offered to cover her grandmother’s classic “Ain’t No Way.”
Perry, a clear fan, cheered on the teenager and added some vocals to the performance.
Was it enough? For Perry, the answer was clearly yes. “Grace, I think you have stardust and sparkle all over you,” the “Teenage Dream” singer said. Unfortunately, Bryan and Richie disagreed.
“I think the best thing for you in life is to try to go back,” Richie said. “Go back and get a good start and come back to this.”
A visibly frustrated Perry continued to defend the teenager, but Richie remained firm in his conviction.
“Trust me,” he said. “If you go away and come back and put the shyness behind you and put the voice in front of you, you’re going to be something amazing.”
That’s when Perry got up and stormed out. “I left that show, I’m going to the bar,” she said in protest.
Watch footage of Grace’s audition and the judges’ battle that followed below:
Hopefully, Grace will take Richie’s advice to heart and come back stronger than ever in the near future. She clearly has so much talent, and we would love to see her succeed just like her grandmother.
Speaking of which, Grace reflected on her relationship with Aretha Franklin.
“I was very close to my grandmother. I saw her all the time, I traveled a lot with her,” she said. “I don’t think I can fully comprehend the fact that she was known around the world because to me she was always just a grandmother.”
Grace’s audition also dispelled a myth that her grandmother always walked around with a gun in her purse.
Why was her bag always so close to her? According to Grace, that was where she kept her money. Insider notes that Franklin did would insist on being paid before performances and keep her money close, even when performing on stage.
It’s a lesson in the history of music that we are happy to have!