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With Friday’s release of the film Respect, Jennifer Hudson visited the Late Show Thursday to perform an impromptu rendition of the Aretha Franklin classic “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman” alongside Stephen Colbert and Jon Batiste.
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/jennifer-hudson-respect-movie-review-aretha-franklin-biopic-1211398/
As Hudson told Colbert during the interview, she learned to play piano while filming her role as the Queen of Soul. “I always had the passion for singing, not playing [piano], but now since playing her, it’s given me a new passion to wanna play more,” Hudson said.
The singer then talked about meeting Franklin for the first time — soon after she was eliminated from American Idol, “in 7th place, and proud of it,” Hudson quipped — as well as opening for the soul legend. “I got to see her sing, and I got to open up the show, and that was my first time meeting her… and bring her flowers, of course,” Hudson said.
Hudson then took a seat by Batiste’s piano to show the different approaches to singing that she and Franklin had — Franklin sings “from the top of her head,” a vocal coach told Hudson, who “sang from her feet” — with the lesson becoming a “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman” performance with Batiste and Colbert on backing vocals.
Later on in the show, Hudson delivered “Respect” with her own band:
The Franklin biopic Respect and its soundtrack are out Friday, August 13th.
