Meanwhile, Stevie Wonnder will deliver a rendition of 'The Lord's Prayer' and Ariana Grande is set to sing 'Natural Woman'.
- Aug 31, 2018
AceShowbiz - Jennifer Hudson will bid farewell to Aretha Franklin by performing Amazing Grace at her funeral on Friday, August 31.
The singer, who will be portraying the Queen of Soul in a forthcoming biopic, will be joining Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Ariana Grande, and Fantasia Barrino to honour the singer's life and legacy at the private Greater Grace Temple ceremony in her adopted city of Detroit, Michigan, and the performance setlist has now been revealed.
Stevie will deliver The Lord's Prayer for his close friend, while Faith will sing What A Friend We Have In Jesus, Fantasia will belt out Precious Lord, and Grande will tackle the late legend's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - the same track she belted out in tribute to Aretha in an appearance on America's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon hours after the musician's loss.
Jennifer's involvement in the service comes months after she was handpicked by Aretha to star in her long-gestating biopic earlier this year. The film is said to be based on the veteran singer's 1998 memoir, Aretha: From These Roots, in which she chronicled her childhood as the daughter of a minister in Detroit, her struggles as a single, teenage mum, and her subsequent rise to superstardom, becoming the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The funeral will mark the end of a four-day celebration of the Queen of Soul's life, which began with an open casket viewing for fans at Detroit's Charles H. Wright African American Museum on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Thursday, Franklin's body was moved to the New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was once the pastor, for a private visitation, which was subsequently opened up to the public. As fans arrived, they saw Aretha wearing a lacy, rose gold St. John's dress and gold Christian Louboutin shoes.
It was the third wardrobe change for the late star - her body had previously been dressed in a red, lacy gown with Christian Louboutin heels, complete with matching nails and lipstick for the first day of viewings, while on Wednesday, she donned a pastel blue dress with matching stilettos.
She died from pancreatic cancer earlier this month, aged 76.
