Aretha Franklin Covers Adele, Whitney Houston & Alicia Keys On New Divas-Themed Concept Album

Mike Wass | September 18, 2014 5:20 pm

Aretha Franklin is releasing her 39th studio LP on September 30. Wait… what? The news comes as a surprise because the queen of soul is kind of ‘doing a Beyonce‘ — the album isn’t a total secret but details are heavily guarded. Clive Davis, who is overseeing production for Arista Records, did, however, shed some light on the tantalizing project for Billboard.

For starters, it’s a concept album. Aretha will cover classic songs by fellow divas including Adele, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys, Etta James and Diana Ross. “[The diva’s] new album is purely and simply sensational,” Clive says of the unexpected opus. “She’s on fire and vocally in absolutely peak form. What a thrill to see this peerless artist still showing the way, still sending shivers up your spine, still demonstrating that all contemporary music needs right now is the voice.” My iPod is ready.

Do you love the concept? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via Billboard].

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