In 2015, when Stephen Colbert was hosting the Kennedy Center tribute to Carole King, Aretha Franklin sang King's "Natural Woman" just a few feet away from him, Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show, paying his respects to Franklin, who died Thursday. "And as she started, I said to the man standing next to me, one of the stagehands, I said, 'Man, I wish I could have seen her when she was younger, when she was in full voice.' And boy am I stupid. Because this is what happened."
"There is no queen of soul right now, and she can never be replaced," Colbert said. Aretha Franklin is certainly a hard act to follow, but on The Tonight Show, Ariana Grande paid tribute to Franklin by singing the same song with The Roots.
If that seems unfair to Grande, Trevor Noah sang a few bars of "Natural Woman" during his Daily Show between-the-scenes homage to Franklin, too, explaining how he'd sing the song as a kid in South Africa before he really understood that he was singing about being a woman. Then he talked a bit about Franklin's life and legacy and grit. Watch below. Peter Weber
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