Aretha Franklin to Appear at Sunday's Grammy Awards (Well, Sorta)

At this weekend's 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and others will reportedly pay tribute to the ailing Aretha Franklin during the show's opening number. While we all would like to see the Queen of Soul jump on stage to show the world that she's fine and not on death's bed as a result of pancreatic cancer, she will do the next best thing; She'll send a video message, according to Showbiz 411's Roger Friedman.

The great and legendary Aretha Franklin, contrary to crazy web reports, is not appearing live on stage at Sunday’s Grammy Awards. Miss Franklin, if you are new to this planet, travels by bus. She does not fly. She rarely travels west of the Rockies, and she’s still recuperating from her winter illness. So she’s taped a video message that will be played during the show for her fans–who are everyone, really. She is fine and dandy. She will look a lot thinner, I think, than in her last public outing. But she is healthy. There will be a tribute to her on stage, which there should be every year. But it’s not a send off. Aretha will be back, and soon!
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Healthy is relative. We don't know about you, but Sunday's this tribute sounds like a continuation of Aretha's farewell party, but we could be wrong. We hope we're wrong.

Update, Feb 14: WATCH: Aretha's video message.




Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams and Martina McBride perform several of Aretha's classic.