Aretha Franklin has a new album out, did you know that? It’s called Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics and it already debuted at #13 on the Billboard 200. On the album, Aretha covers some classic songs, like “I Will Survive” and “Midnight Train to Georgia”. She also mixes it up with some “modern classics,” like covers of Adele’s “Rolling In the Deep” and Alicia Keys’ “No One.” To promote the album, Aretha has been giving some interesting interviews (I didn’t know her inaugural bow-hat was in the Smithsonian), and one interview (with the Wall Street Journal) in particular has gotten a lot of attention lately.
Here’s the WSJ video – if you just want to listen to her IDGAF dismissal of so many of the younger girls, skip ahead to about 3:30. But the whole video is pretty good. She’s fiesty and she’s not going to talk about stuff that she doesn’t want to talk about.
Nicki Minaj? “Hmmm. I’m going to pass on that one.” Taylor Swift? “Great gowns, beautiful gowns.” She was nicer about Adele, calling her a “good singer” but the way Aretha says “I haven’t met her” makes me wonder if Aretha even wants to meet Adele. About Alicia Keys, Aretha says: “Young performer, good writer, producer.”
So… the shade. I’m actually starting to feel a little bit sorry for Minaj. It feels like a lot of people have been yelling about or at her lately. Minaj just wants to sing about butts, it’s not that controversial! As for Aretha’s complete apathy towards even recognizing Swifty as a singer… that’s beautiful. It really is. Taylor isn’t much of a vocal talent and I get the feeling that Aretha is old-school about that kind of thing. If you want to call yourself a singer, you better have a VOICE. So, failing that, Aretha just said something nice about Swifty’s gowns. Ha!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Did you know that song was not written by Aretha.
Otis Redding wrote it. And had a radio hit with it too.
I like Otis too. It doesn’t matter who wrote it, though. She owned that song.
I love Otis but Aretha added her own to the song as well as provided a few minor lyrics that she wrote for her version. Aretha could have taken a songwriting credit for Respect since the rule “a word for a third” but she declined. I think she probably got an arrangement credit though.
..double post
Ave to true diva .
@Hautie Carole King co-wrote one of Aretha’s most popular songs ,(You make me feel like) A Natural Woman ,but Aretha sang the hell out of that song.
Aretha came up at a time that singing was considered an art form. Is it supposed to make her music less special that she’s interpreting the words of others?
All hail the Queen of Soul! Whatever happened to the art of song & great singing. I’m surprised that she even gave the utterly dreary & boring Taylor Swift the comment that she did. Everything about TS is dull, including her choice of clothing. The Minaj diss was the best, as she doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned to a Goddess like Aretha. She cant even rap, let alone sing!
Yes! Of course, there is average singing, good singing, and then those that can REALLY sing who have fantastic voices. I think lots of singers may get by and with the best agents, really hit the jackpot, but not very many can REALLY sing. I consider Aretha an exceptional voice, and also Mariah Carey. I can understand and agree they wouldn’t be in the same class as Swifty or Nicky. Taylor’s lightweight pop singing cannot hold a candle to more professional voices. That’s just the way it is.
It’s Aretha Franklin and she can throw as much shade around as she wants. None of the singers mentioned can hold a candle to Ms. Franklin and the fact that she knows it, and essentially acknowledges it, is quite alright.
+ a million
Best shade I’ve ever seen was AT Aretha from Cissy Houston on Letterman. It is spectacular.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8iBkjnRdA
Yes
RESPECT.
You tell em Aretha.
Love her.
Haha. She threw shade at Alicia Keys too! Notice she never said Alicia was a good singer.
Because she isn’t–HAH!
I always want to like Alicia Keys songs but find myself cringing a little. I don’t know if it’s her voice or just the way she chooses to sing, but it’s not for me.
Sometimes I wish Keys would have other people sing her songs, as the songwriting is great, but there’s always a sterile quality to her recordings. It could be because her voice is kind of weak.
Aretha is not known for being friendly towards any female singers. This goes way back to the 60’s. She had never enjoy the company/competition of other women who were popular singers.
(And again… I find Taylor Swift harmless for her generation of singers. So I refuse to sh*t talk her.)
All of the girl singers listed here, have been very successful in their career’s. Which should be celebrated. Since so few of them get to control their careers and what they sing. Which all of these girls have been able to do.
Instead the interviewer goes looking to get Aretha to sh*t talk about them all. Which she happily did.
She still managed to adhere to the rule of ‘don’t say anything if you can’t say something nice’. She actually said nice things, but in a backhanded compliment sort of way. You have to enjoy her cheekiness. She has more game than Martha Stewart in the shade department.
She is so southern, big titted and Shady
I HIGHLY recommend you guyses catch your life CACKLINg at her David Letterman Performance of her Adele Cover..
A) Cissy Houston sang back up (when she felt like it) possibly whilst wondering.. “did I Leave the Stove on?”
B) why did she decide to do that DEEEE-EEEEEOOOOPPPP like that… OMG (im in tears just thinking about it Oh God)
QQ, I haven’t seen it. Do you have a link? It sounds like the performance of a lifetime. LMAO
http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2014/09/aretha-franklin-cissy-houston-david-letterman.html
put on headphones and heartily enjoy the write up
The comments were f*king hilarious.
@QQ says: Your link & comments made my day. Hilarious!! So true…..
@QQ, this video is the best thing I’ve seen in days. Cissy just mouthing the words and getting them wrong! This is priceless.
Oh my word, that write-up. I now think Cissy Houston is the queen of side-eye
I watched this the other day…wow. The Cissy stuff is hilarious, but I hadn’t noticed that she’s sort of just mouthing some words (not the actually lyrics) at a few times.
From what I understand, Aretha was never in the habit of supporting other females in the biz. Why are we acting like her catty comments are something to celebrate? Aretha can have several seats.
I think she was just answering to the names in an honest way. It is how she sees those ladies. When she thought someone had a good voice, she said it. When she thought they were trash, she let her lack of words speak for her. I didn’t hear any disrespect at all. In fact I think in some cases she gave them more respect than they give themselves.
Love Aretha.
The woman knows talent.
Ooh, that’s interesting. I didn’t know that Aretha had a reputation for not getting along with other female artists. I wonder how true it is.
@fancyamazon: I don’t think her comments were too bad either, but I also don’t think those artists don’t respect themselves or are trash just because they may not conform to the constraints of a Wholesome & Ladylike™ image or because I’m not a huge fan of their music.
I do like Adele’s music though, and I did used to like Alicia’s music too. I just haven’t listened to much of it lately. It’s been a few years- the last album of hers I bought was like in 2008, and I was probably a freshman or sophomore in high school then.
Aretha doesn’t play well with others, but her personality is such a big part of her music that I can’t imagine wanting to change her. Could you imagine “Think” being performed by a milder woman?
There are plenty of men who don’t sing Kumbaya about or with all other men. I don’t understand why all women have to love all other women’s work, all of a sudden. Is this some new vagina card that you sign up for? Aretha didn’t even say anything terrible.
Huh?
And of course I have a Vagina Card. How do you think I get all my dates?
I was agreeing with you, in a sense, I thought that was pretty self explanatory. But there is this message lately, not from you, but in general, that if women don’t somehow praise other women, they belong in hell. And Aretha wasn’t being utterly bitchy here.
Oooh. Apparently I can’t read because I was wondering if I wrote something weird and you were disagreeing with me. As far as I’m concerned Aretha can throw as much shade as she ever wants. That voice. Queen of Soul indeed.
There are so many strange, conflicting messages out there about womanhood, success, and support. I would say that ultimately it boils down to a dislike of actual self reflection – it ‘s easier to state that we as women should support other women simply because they’re women, rather than actually take in the criticism that’s being given and internalize it and accept it. Because that also means that accepting that so much of our society, including many of the things that we enjoy and make us feel good, are the products of a male dominated society. That women aren’t comrades but competitors that need to be cut down. We understand that we need to support other women, but support goes so much deeper than agreement – it means empowerment and creating opportunities so that there’s room for more than just one woman at the table. And until THAT becomes the conversation, we’re going to continue to get this.
I loved that cover of Rolling in the Deep. I didn’t laugh at CIssy Houston. Thanks for the link.
Her expression in the still is what was odd-ish. I still respect her prior history of artistry.
Swifty writes her songs. In my book that makes her better than say Ariana Grande who has abetter voice.
But why??? I really don’t get this type of logic. IMO, singing is absolutely about your voice, your vocal technique, tone, timber, etc. No opera singer writes the music they sing, but no one expects them to, and the fact that they don’t, doesn’t take away from their absolute talent.
Besides, just because someone writes their own songs, doesn’t mean it’s really worth much, especially when paired with a sub-par voice. Avril Lavigne wrote some of her songs…
Thank you! Spot on. Just because you write the dreary rubbish that you sing doesn’t mean you are superior to those that dont. In fact, most if not all of the great great great singers never wrote the material they sing. Ella, Barbra, Aretha, Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, Gladys, Whitney, Patti Labaelle & so many more all fall in this category
I’ve heard that Ariana does write some of her own songs, even though I don’t know which ones she did and which ones she didn’t. But yes, I agree that writing your own songs doesn’t automatically make you a better artist if you don’t have a good voice to back it up. When I buy a singer’s music, I buy it based on sound- either do I like their voice or do I like the sound of the song. Whether or not they wrote it doesn’t influence the buying decision for me, even though I do think it’s cool and respect it when singers do write their own songs.
Amen. We have lost respect for the art of singing as an art and a skill in and of itself. Not just anyone could be Aretha, Whitney, Maria Callas or Patti LaPone, sorry. Autotune has destroyed this artform. I would hardly give Taylor props for the drivel that comes out of her mouth either. It cracks me up that she’s treated like the tweenypop Bob Dyaln. Yeah right.
Yes, to your comment and Tristan’s: Has anyone actually heard swifty’s unenhanced “singing” voice? Of course not, Why should fakery and a manufactured image be celebrated: the Queen of Soul is spot on .
Then she a writer not a singer so no she is not better then Ariana who can sing. Katy Perry write some of her songs too but can’t sing at all dose that make her better then someone who can?
Ariana can learn to write her own music–but Taylor can never learn to be a good singer.
I completely disagree with you. I buy the music because I appreciate a good voice which produces great sound. There are thousands and thousands of song writers but there are very few great voices who can sing the songs. That is why I think I just can’t get into Taylor Swift. Her voice is enhanced when in concert and on records…I always feel like I am watching an actress pretending to be a pop star when I see her perform.
I agree with you Spooky. Opera is a different thing, but when a musician sings, he should connect with the audience. And for me, if someone is singing about heartache, I want to know that he felt it, that the words he sings are his. To me, Bob Dylan is a bigger artist than Mariah Carey even if she can sing circles around him.
It always makes me laugh when somebody says “X is a better artist because they writes songs”. Do people realize she writes most of her songs with 2 or 3 other people? Obviously the songs are based on her life but how much is actually her writing? I just think it’s ridiculous to think Taylor Swift and Britney Spears is better than Whitney Houston because they write and she didn’t.
Hey, she is the Aretha Franklin. If she wants to throw shade, shes earned it. Though I do hope that fur stole is fake.
Several Muppets were killed to make that stole.
+1
Aretha wants none with that bun, huh.
Honestly if I was like her and made my ne on my talent instead of showing body parts I wouldn’t have much respect for Nikki either.
Come on Taylor fans, she didn’t really say anything nasty she complimented her dresses. Taylor really isn’t known for her singing prowess, and her music is enjoyable but lets be honest I don’t think they are going to be classics in years. The Nikki comment was my favorite, because if you are Aretha what do you say about her. No comment.
You in trouble.
Prepare for the onslaught. I’ll get the festivities started: you are a jealous shot of jealousness-flavored-Jell-O .
“Great gowns.” LMAO. Just classic.
Aretha, you’re such a bitch and I -LOVE- it! Bless!
I love Aretha she is Queen of shading.
Aretha is a minister’s daughter. Her musical roots are in gospel. She is a devoted friend of Cissy Houston and was Whitney’s godmother. And she can still bring the house down. It’ll be interesting to see the longevity of say, Minaj, Swifty, et al.
She is what you would genuinely call a ‘force’. And sans gimmicks.
I think Taylor Swift has longevity. I think she’ll be around for many years. I give Nicki Minaj another 3 years.
Nicki needs to slow down before she ends up in the same position as Lady Gaga. These days, what Lady Gaga is doing is on no one’s mind. Those gimmicks and scandalous music videos will turn people off. Nicki hasn’t even hit Gaga numbers yet and Nicki will already beat her career to death.
I’m so disappointed in Lady Gaga or by Lady Gaga , I guess. She is a true entertainer and talent. That voice is amazing.I watched her and Tony Bennett a couple of weeks ago, amazing. But all her other antics are a turn off.
I think Cissy H. probably did this as a favor to Clive Davis (and Aretha but probably idea of Clive D.) and then perhaps regretted it. Just a guess.
Aretha is wonderful, a real talent, she can say whatever she wants.
I would care what she said, if just be high-giving myself if she knew who I was.
Don’t mess with the truck or you’ll get dumped on. Aretha can sing like nobodies business. I simply can’t imagine anyone other than her belting out You’d Better Think in the Blues Brothers. Classic Aretha
This beautiful shade.
I’m sure taylor is laughing all the way to the bank.
She isn’t singing on key all the way to the bank and that’s her point. I love how money is the surefire barometer for success.
“She isn’t singing on key all the way to the bank”
*gigglesnort* Ain’t that the damn truth!
There are few singers today with truly amazing voices that don’t require autotune. Adele and Kelly Clarkson come to mind. I used to teach college voice, and one of the most important lessons I taught my students was that great performers have more than just great technique, they are able to move listeners to feel something special. They are memorable for that ability. Aretha has that for sure. TS writes great, fun songs but will never be remembered for her vocall talent. Nikki will be remembered for her butt.
I’d imagine there are a lot of talented singers out there, but they don’t have the right look or personality for a record company to build a product on. I guess it’s easier and more lucrative to promote a JLo or a Britney.
So agree about that something special, and that Aretha has it. Adele and Kelly too – I watched Kelly’s Christmas special last year, it was cheesy and silly, but so worth it to see her perform.
Maybe it’s not fair, but I guess I’m a little more accepting of talented artists throwing light shade at other artists, as long as they don’t get nasty and hateful with it (which she didn’t). But I also see how someone else could look at it differently. For some people, when they hear someone like Aretha or Mariah (or their fans) throw shade at some of these artists their reaction is “Look, you’ve had your time to shine and proven yourself to be a legend. So can’t you kindly let other young new female artists have some success and fun too? Another artist’s success doesn’t diminish what you are, or if you’re a fan, what your favorite singer is.” I said something similar on youtube once to some particularly aggressive Mariah Carey fans. I still think Aretha handled this pretty damn well though; didn’t take it in the nasty direction that some others are taking it in, and Nicki has thrown shade at other artists too, so I hope she can take this. (I wonder how or if she’ll respond!)
I do think that the group of artists mentioned here- Aretha, Nicki, Taylor, Adele, and Alicia- are all examples of female artists taking different directions when it comes to their careers and their images and doing what they want to do with their lives, and I like it. I totally support that. I like that all women in the music industry aren’t clones of each other just being made to do the same exact thing and think the diversity in the type of artists and images is a good thing.
I love everything you said here.
I would NOT cross Aretha, under any circumstances. Would you?
She has said great things about adele, that she is a very good songwriters with deep lyrics. She is actually doing a cover of one of her songs so obviously she rates her.
Only Aretha deserves to be in the same sentence as Ella Fitzgerald.
Really, Kaiser? Cameltoe in our faces to start out the week??? EeeeewwwWWW!!!
Seeing the Queen wear Chucks made my WEEK!!!
Aretha compliments young singers whom she believes are talented “Sangers” not singers .She has been supportive of Fantasia,Mary J,Adele,Beyonce,too name a few.
What an unpleasant woman. She’s the original Kanye.
She IS actually an unpleasant woman. I was a big fan of hers for a long time–my mom came of age in the 50s & 60s, so I grew up listening to her music and thought she was just THE WOMAN. Several years ago we both performed at an event and I got to meet her. And…she was the biggest b*tch. It was kinda devastating to meet such an idol and have her be such an awful person.
I know how devastating that can be. sorry that happened…
Irene:
Kayne and Aretha Franklin are nothing alike, nothing at all. That is ridiculous.
Well I don’t need my favorite singers,actors,athletes to be pleasant people.I need them to perform.I met Luther Vandross once in Houston.He was cold,aloof.I still love his music.Aretha is not friendly that is obvious in interviews.Yet I will still pay money to see her sing live.
Lady Soul! Love how she sidestepped the politics too. She throws shade with the best of them.
That is a fantastic interview! She is direct . ” A book of trash!” about Ritz.
The interviewer/guy seemed a bit scared, maybe he was in awe. It was hilarious the way Aretha Franklin was so matter fact.
Audra McDonald as Aretha Franklin? I would be first in line if that happens!
Makes her seem small and petty.
Many of the comments are comparing Aretha and Taylor, and frankly, that’s like comparing apples and oranges to me. They both are completely different singers — musically, Aretha is an alto, whereas Taylor is a soprano. Aretha has a “powerhouse” voice (she can belt her voice) but Taylor has a “blendy” voice (it won’t sound the same – not usually as good – as a “powerhouse” pushing her voice/belting). Aretha has a naturally louder voice and Taylor’s is softer. Taylor is fabulous at blending but Aretha might struggle with that due to the above factors. Nothing wrong with any of that – they still both have good voices at the end of the day.