Beyoncé honours ailing Aretha Franklin at Detroit concert
Opening act DJ Khaled pumps the crowd with Franklin's hit Respect
Queen Bey dedicated her performance with husband, Jay Z, to the Queen of Soul drawing a thunderous roar from Aretha Franklin's hometown of Detroit.
The Detroit Free Press reports the moment came early in the show Monday night at Ford Field with Beyoncé saying, "We love you" and thanking the ailing 76-year-old for her "beautiful music."
After performing the opening song with Jay-Z, Beyoncé said: “This show is dedicated to Aretha Franklin,” while also saying, “We love you and thank you” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OTII?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OTII</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Detroit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Detroit</a>
—@fordfieldR-E-S-P-E-C-T heard <a href="https://twitter.com/djkhaled?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@djkhaled</a> opened the <a href="https://twitter.com/Beyonce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Beyonce</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JayZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JayZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/detroit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#detroit</a> show with it and Bey saluted the Queen. My heart hurts 💔 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrayingForAretha?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrayingForAretha</a>
—@LoriBen4<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OTR2?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OTR2</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DETROIT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DETROIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/soGwRIADdE">pic.twitter.com/soGwRIADdE</a>
—@RocNationOpening the show, DJ Khaled got the crowd excited when he played one of Franklin's biggest hits, Respect.
A person close to Franklin, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to publicly talk about the topic, told The Associated Press on Monday that the singer is seriously ill. No more details were provided.
Fans and friends, including Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott, have offered prayers and well wishes to the iconic soul singer.
