Aretha Franklin's funeral will be 4-day event in Detroit

No word on whether the service will be televised.

I hope it is as I'm looking forward to a DL viewing party like the one for Whitney Houston.

Is Oprah invited? Kerry?

The bigger question is who will be invited to sing?

I am sure Jennifer Hudson will be asked to si g.

Jennifer Hudson was chosen by Aretha to sing at the tribute concert that will take place at MSG. So I would guess that if anyone sings at the funeral, JH is on the short list.

Detroit doesn't have anything else going on, so this will be good for the city.

[quote]Detroit doesn't have anything else going on, so this will be good for the city.

I'm amazed she still lived there.

That's why she's so amazing, R7.

Anyone else would've left in a minute -- especially since she didn't sign with or was the mascot for Motown Records.

Aretha truly was an original who lived her life on her personal terms. There aren't many (if any) like her left.

she answers the still in Detroit question HERE >

If they want a singer to do justice to an Aretha song, they should call the under rated Jessie J and ask her to grace the proceedings with her talent. Jessie J killed every song she sang at a Chinese competition recently and went on to win first place when all was sang and done. Check her out honoring Whitney with a fantastic version of "I Have Nothing."

Thank you R10 for this video. Jessie J is fabulous!

Jessie J is the shoutiest, thirstiest, most unnuanced piece of shit to ever bellow into a microphone.

I agree, R12! So glad she took that spotlight off me.

Datalounge's tastemakers should just ADORE her, r12.

Detroit needs to do the Graceland equivalent of Aretha's home. That city needs every tourism dollar it can get.

Jesse J?? Is the Bleeding Love singer not available? Joss Stone? Natasha Bedingfield???

Rita Ora?

....

I'll be that Michelle and Barack will be at the service

oh dear, Aug. 31 is Mariah's first night back in Vegas. I'm sure she wants to be at the funeral and will probably cancel that Vegas date and piss off her fans.

Please, no Beyoncé performance, although I have a feeling Aretha was not a fan.

Fantasia will perform and she'll be wonderful as always. She's hated on Datalounge but not by Aretha, Patti, Diana, Gladys, Mariah or Stevie Wonder.

Has Fantasia learned to read yet?

I hope Detroit gives [italic]me[/italic] a big sendoff after I've passed.

Isn't Fantasia a great, big, fat homophobe?

No, she's not R24. And we won't be arguing about it here. If you knew anything about black music and the important people in that culture, you'd know that Fantasia will be performing at the funeral.

Stevie, Smokey and Jolanda Adams I am sure will perform.

Dionne is set to do a rousing, but heartwarming, rendition of 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose'.

[quote]I'll be that Michelle and Barack will be at the service

and you know who, of course.

[quote] No, she's not [R24]. And we won't be arguing about it here. If you knew anything about black music and the important people in that culture, you'd know that Fantasia will be performing at the funeral.

Fantasia has a limited fan base both inside and outside of the black community. And Aretha had some harsh words for Fantasia in 2016, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect her to do public tributes.

Those are hardly harsh words. Plus Fantasia can't read them, anyway.

Grief porn extraordinaire.

The public viewing will be from 9am to 9pm on August 28th and 29th.

^ the funeral will be August 31st.

Can Fantasia count that high?

August 28? Are they keeping her in the freezer or is she getting the Lenin treatment?

What row will they put Oprah in?

How many costume changes will there be at this funeral?

Jennifer Holliday is the one who should sing at Aretha's funeral. Jennifer Holliday has her roots in gospel music. Jennifer Hudson is fine, but no one can top Jennifer Holliday. When it comes to black female singers, there is no one better. Jennifer would pay tribute to Aretha like no other.

Do all white people mistake all of Aretha's singing for the incomprehensible wailing of Jennifer Holiday? No.

Separate funerals for each of her breasts dragging things out? Hope the temperature drops or there will be on hell of a pong.

JHud is a bit hit and miss, her tone can get quite harsh and ugly. But she is a fine and inspirational singer with a voice that sometimes opens up to the sky, much like Aretha herself. Gospel is never about perfection - but we need a bit of finesse.

R41Sounds like the precursor to Aretha-The Musical.

Why is anyone else performing at all? Why don't they play recordings of Aretha?

God it's creepy the way gentiles wait so long to bury someone. The whole town will be swarming with flies or dead of cholera by the time they get her in the ground.

Many, many people will sing at Aretha's funeral. They will not all sound good, many of them are very old. It is not a concert, it is a homecoming. There was SHIT singing (Alicia Keys) at Whitney's funeral but it served to make her own recording of I Will Always Love You even more glorious at the end. We don't need to pretend that Aretha sounded great for the last 20 years. Her voice had it's moments, but her magnificence accompanied her on stage most times.

Whitney came from a family of fucking liars and fuck ups. Pious as hell, going to hell, hiding her real friends and not willing to celebrate the real woman.

That won't happen with Aretha and even more luminaries will attend. There are stories to tell and songs to sing. Some of those old people sing very well still. But JHUD will be a presence. What is she if not a church girl? The one chosen to play Aretha in a movie I will never go to. Jennifer can SANG, but she sure as heck can't act.

Bury her and get it to fuck over with. An exercise in naval. gazing for any performer

The thread made me think of this moment (though the title is click-bait, still a bit of a snag with Ms. Warwick)

Ugh, even druggy old croaking ghetto Dionne Warwick's speaking voice is grotesque. Please don't sing. She's such a phony and a lazy inarticulate bitch. Dionne is like Streisand. A real talent without a real person. Musically forgotten and personally disliked.

What’s the Lenin treatment?

Lots of peroxide, bleaching and disinfectants.

A four day event? All I got was a fucking sidebar in TV Guide magazine!

R49, Lenin was embalmed and kept in a clear glass casket.

Sister Re Re declined to sing at Trump's inauguration.

Isn't this all a bit "much"?

R54 this is America. It's Showtime!

Shoop Shoop. Pure joy.