Andrew Lipovsky/NBCAriana Grande reportedly broke down in tears following a performance of Aretha Franklin‘s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” on Thursday’s The Tonight Show.
Grande performed the song as a tribute to Franklin, who died earlier Thursday at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer.
Sources tell TMZ that Grande was scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show but only to participate in a sketch with Fallon — not to perform. In light of Franklin’s death though, producers asked Ariana if she would perform one of Aretha’s songs to honor her.
Grande reportedly said no at first, explaining that she was “too emotional” after hearing about Franklin’s death. However, Questlove, the drummer and leader of Fallon’s house band, The Roots, convinced Ariana to perform a song with the band.
The “No Tears Left to Cry” singer managed to pull herself together in time for her sit-down with Fallon, during which she shared memories of the late singer, whom she said she’d met “a few times.”
“We sang at the White House and she was so sweet and she was like, so cute,” says Grande, who remembered her reaction to meeting Aretha was, “How are you real?”
“I was an honor to have met her and we’re gonna celebrate her,” added Grande.
On a lighter note, Ariana used the rest of her segment as a “mini listening party,” during which Jimmy played snippets of several songs from Sweetener, including, “Breathin’,” “Pete Davidson,” — dedicated to the Saturday Night Live castmember to whom she was recently engaged — and “R.E.M.’,” a piece of which she sang live, backed by The Roots.
Sweetener, which dropped at midnight, is now available to stream.
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