Trediz’s Weblog

The 2008 Grammy Awards this past weekend was one of the best award shows this season in my opinion.  There were numerous show-stopping moments that stood out.  Kanye West gave a touching tribute performance to his late mother, Dr. Donda West.  Alicia Keys and John Mayer rocked out; while Fergie put her “S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G” to bed and sang a great duet with John Legend.  Rihanna brought out her “umbrella-ella-ella-eh eh”; while the troubled Amy Winehouse got her act together (at least for a few hours) and performed her appropriately titled hits “Trouble” and “Rehab.”  But perhaps the moment that left me speechless was when Beyonce and Tina Turner brought down the house with a duet of “Proud Mary.”  Tina Turner, a legend approaching 70 years old showed that she still can bring it. While Beyonce proved she could hold her own on a stage with a music icon.

At the beginning of the performance, Beyonce did “broadway-ish” tribute to some of the most influential women in music.  Some of the names she mentioned were: Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, and Whitney Houston.  At the end of her introduction, she brought Tina Turner out as “The Queen.”  Beyonce’s referral to Tina Turner as the queen didn’t sit well with Aretha Franklin.  One day after the ceremony, Aretha and her publicist released a statement basically saying that Aretha didn’t appreciate Beyonce referring to Tina Turner as the queen when everyone knows that Aretha is the queen.

My personal opinion about this whole fiasco is that it was blown way out of proportion.  Everyone knows that Aretha Franklin is credited as the “Queen of Soul,” while Tina Turner is credited as the “Queen of Rock and Roll.”  I think there is enough room in the music industry for there to be several queens.  I would consider people like Diana Ross and Patti LaBelle to be queens as well.  I feel Aretha was being a bit ridiculous about the whole thing, considering that Beyonce mentioned her in her intro tribute.  If this was a PR stunt with Franklin and her publicist, I don’t think that it was successful.  Franklin was left looking like an egotistical diva that needed a lot of attention.  I guess once you have accomplished the things that she has you can have that attitude; however this made her look childish.

If I were Aretha’s publicist, I would just wait for this to blow over.  With other hot messes like Britney and Paris dominating headlines, the media will soon forget about this.  Releasing any statement might hurt the situation more.  I would urge her not to talk about it in interviews and appearances. I would then urge Aretha to keep producing hit soulful music so that she can back up the title that she claims she owns.