Ledisi, who sings 'Precious Lord, Take My Hand' in the film 'Selma', says that she's still a part of history although she wasn't asked to perform the song at the Sunday, February 8 ceremony.
- Feb 10, 2015
AceShowbiz - Beyonce Knowles' performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, February 8 came as a disappointment for some people. They weren't happy that the R&B diva was chosen to sing "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" over Ledisi who recorded the song for "Selma".
In the film, Ledisi played the late singer Mahalia Jackson who performs the gospel song penned by Thomas A. Dorsey. Her fans then expressed their anger on social media after they found out that Bey would sing it.
"This is very unfair!! #2015GRAMMYs @Beyonce @common @ledisi ledisi ripped this song apart!" one Twitter user wrote. "Ledisi sung it in the Selma film, so they should have asked her. Beyonce doesn't have the chops for that one. She'll over do it," another added.
Ledisi later responded to the drama as she chatted with Entertainment Tonight on the Grammys red carpet. Admitting she "[didn't] have a clue" why she wasn't asked to sing the track, she said she's still proud of becoming a part of "Selma".
"What I will say and what I'm excited about is that I had the pleasure of playing an iconic figure in 'Selma'," she said. "And the song, 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord', it's been going on forever - starting with the queen Mahalia, the queen of soul Aretha Franklin."
"Then, I was able to portray and sing my version of the song, and now we have Beyonce. Her generation will now know the song, so I'm a part of history," she continued. "I look it at like that instead of looking at it as a negative."
ET also discussed Beyonce's performance in a separate interview with John Legend, who played the Oscar-nominated "Glory" with Common following the former Destiny's Child singer's introduction.
Legend revealed to the site that it was Beyonce who had the idea to sing with them in the "Selma" tribute. "We were actually approached by Beyonce," he said. "She wanted to do an intro to our performance and introduce us. You don't really say no to Beyonce if she asks to perform with you."
