Aretha Franklin Grammys Tribute: When and How to Watch

CBS is airing the Aretha Franklin Grammys tribute on Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET. The two-hour tribute to the Queen of Soul features performances from John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Celine Dion.

Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul was filmed at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 13. The concert was hosted by filmmaker Tyler Perry and also included performances from Alicia Keys, Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Common, Patti LaBelle, BeBe Winans, SZA, Chloe X Halle, Brandi Carlile, H.E.R. and Janelle Monae.

If you do not have access to a television Sunday but still want to watch the special as it airs, CBS does have a live stream available on its CBS All Access platform. Other online television streaming services include DirecTV Now, Sony Playstation Vue, YouTube TV, Hulu With Live TV and Fubo TV. Many of these services have free one-week trials, although they require entering payment information.

If you do have a cable or satellite subscription but will still not be near a television, you can stream it online at CBS.com and the CBS apps for iPhone and Android in some markets. You will be required to enter your cable or satellite log-in information to access the stream.

“Aretha Franklin’s reign as the ‘Queen of Soul’ is incomparable and undisputed,” Neil Portnow, President and CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement in December. “For more than six decades, her extraordinary artistic achievements coupled with her passionate dedication to her philanthropic work — which ranged from children’s and artists’ issues to civil rights activism — served as a testament to her power, majesty, and genius. These gifts positioned her as a true cultural icon, and the Recording Academy is honored to celebrate her inspirational legacy.”

“I am thrilled to have the Recording Academy and CBS as partners in this global tribute to my very dear friend Aretha Franklin,” music mogul Clive Davis added. “Aretha was more than the Queen of Soul; she was a national treasure. This unique concert — featuring many of today’s greatest artists — will celebrate Aretha in a spectacular manner befitting her once-in-a-lifetime talent.”

Franklin died on Aug. 16, 2018 at age 76 from a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. For more than six decades, the Queen of Soul recorded countless hit singles, including “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Spanish Harlem,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Rolling In The Deep.” She won 18 Grammys and became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Aretha helped define the American experience,” President Barack Obama said in a statement after her death. “In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade — our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.”

Photo credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS