Aretha Franklin Performs at Obama Inauguration Ceremony HQ

[Thorneycroft1937]

Man she totally lost it

[soljahsolrac]

the greatest!!!!!

[Torn9696]

she has a great voice......... but this video is not an example of it :(

[w0rdisbond]

And this was as good as that administration ever got.

[hidalgo699]

I love this woman. Im from Mexico, although she is not so popular here, I´ve discivered her art, and its just magnificent.

Long Live the golden singers of the world

[lasha6001]

great artist and great song.. God save america..

[notabadguy06]

distracted. by. the. hat.

[sexytennisbitch1]

Omg she sounds like a dying cat! Oh and fuck all you demos and Obama supporters!!!! GOP for 2012!!!

[arsenaljoy]

WHAT A Performance

[garzj019]

I got misty eyed watching President Obama be inaugurated. Our country was saved.

[petulia67]

For those who "get it" no explanation is necessary- for those who don't, no explanation is possible.

[Kizillia]

One of the very few singers still alive now that deserves the title 'legend,' what a beautiful voice, what a beautiful woman.

[MrJoeManghan]

lol, this is the tune for God Save The Queen.

[whatigot2say]

what a huge disappointment Obama turned out to be. Just another empty suit. nothing but a corporatist with a fresh haircut.

[Kapernakus07]

i think it sounds fucking fantastic, don't understand the negative comments!!!

[jittwoi]

This sounds like the British National Anthem with different lyrics!

[whatigot2say]

hard to believe this hippo wants Halle Barry to play her in her life story.. well they do have inflatable fat suits that she can wear to make it believable.

[avrildayromance]

@whatigot2say she's the best singer in the world, be respectful with her, dumbass

[whatigot2say]

@avrildayromance she's a good singer, used to be anyway. she doesn't sound that impressive anymore. ther overwhelming consensus is that Whitney is the better singer of the two, or at least old Whitney, cause current Whitney sounds like shit. 60-70's and Aretha sounded good. but that was 30 yrs ago.

[BrooklynLady26]

@whatigot2say aretha wasnt fat her whole life you smart ass. Respect your elders

[whatigot2say]

@BrooklynLady26 all that was missing from Miss Franklin was a red scaf rapped around her head and she could have gotten a job selling pancake syrup. can you say aunt Gemima? her whole fried chicken, sweet potato pie, cornbread, collard graens, eating life.

[TheQueenAretha]

@whatigot2say Can you say, ASSHOLE! Aretha is a legend, she has accomplished more in her life than your sorry ass ever will! Like i said beofer go somewhere and die!

[LarryjUCF]

@whatigot2say no disrespect to you at all, but god bless you. This woman is ICONIC and sounds AMAZING for a woman of her age. I think you name calling an ELDERLY woman is not called for. Just be respectful as I am being to you......I Love You Ms. Franklin and I pray to god for you a healthy recovery.

[TheRode182]

ma diva,je t'aimerai toujours meme quand je serai plus sur cette terre!

[Imlikeasloth]

I'm sorry that a voice and persona such as this cant compare to the trashyness of kesha or other performers of this generation. Its very sad that many people cannot recognize talent and true beauty when it flows into their ears!

[birdie28a]

I know Aretha is a legend and I hope she gets well soon, but I have never thought she could sing

[TheGoldmag]

You are a self-serving self imoliated idiot. Aretha Franklin is an American treasure. Crawl back into your hole moron and let the rest of the world enjoy the beauty of her voice.

[88Ezequias]

Great Voice, great song. Greetings from Argentina

[VQZam121]

she is an icon... and she did great

[nhisgreat]

americans can be drama queens... but her performance was great no doubt about that

[lovisking]

i am so in love with this video,i ve played it over n ova n again.

[joslenbleuyoung]

I think Aretha did very well considering how cold it was and she said so herself she wasn't completely happy with her performance. Also I like reading comments on the videos that watch but while reading some of these comments it disturbs me that there are still some ignorant people in the world. As a black teenage girl, I never faced racism personally, but I now I realize it is alive and well. Plus I find it funny people watch videos just criticize and complain...grow up and get a life people

[silvershikamaru]

@joslenbleuyoung  haha u totally right my friend!! Greetings from Mexico :)

[sassymonsterO]

@joslenbleuyoung its funny because I say the exact same thing over YouTube.

But then again I forget the web is just full of lowlife idiots.

Aretha did very well, especially when you calculate how long she has been singing, her weight problem, the weather, her age and her attitude.

If her heart wasn't 100% in it then its no surprise it might be a bit less than her usual, but I'm shocked no one has called out Beyonce for singing ETTA JAMES' song.

[XxMissAnnoyedxX]

@sassymonsterO I honestly disagree with you becaus eI'm in high school and two years later after this event happened my teacher made us watch this video. I don't know if it's because it's freezing cold or she is scared to be in front of millions of people live. All I know is that she sounded horrible. I should know because I am studying orchestral music in high school ,but I have friends who are vocal major. So, I know that this was so horrible that I laughed very hard at 1:13

[TheGoldmag]

@XxMissAnnoyedxX Unfortunately, my wonderful kittykat is named Sassy. But she's not a monster, unlike you. You have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to the Queen of Soul. You are a monster, but not the monster you've created for yourself in your own weird mind. Aretha is a person that we'd all like to be. Her voice is wonderful, as is her spirit. You, on the otherhand, are weird. Get a life.

[XxMissAnnoyedxX]

@XxMissAnnoyedxX you know name calling gets you no where you honestly sound like a little kid. A monster is what I sound like? I'm sorry I drew up and understood they don't exist. I'm not exact weird either because who are you out of all people to know what normal is? Just so you know I was referring to this one song which she did not do her best. She can be the "queen of soul" which not all people would agree with. So all that name calling is completely unnecessary. -_-

[GospelAccording2ME]

They should have arrested her on the spot for noise polution. This was horrible and I was ashamed for her! And, before the rabid Aretha fans jump on me, I must say that I am a big fan of the Queen. However, this was not one of her shining moments.  In my humble opinion, her only saving grace was the hat.

[michaelminer1]

at Sharrah, she says Ah! let it ring, she ad libed...!

[michaelminer1]

at Sharrah, she says Ah! let it ring, she ad libed...!

[SHARRAH2008]

Could someone of you loveliest Aretha L. Franklin please tell me what she says exactly at this moment 2:00 (Thank you!)

[Nathanderweise8]

My country 'tis of thee

Sweet land of liberty

Of thee I sing

Land where my father died

Land of the pilgrims' pride

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!!!

God bless the United States of America!

[equanoafrican]

thanks so much for the lyrics. so moving.

[guyinillinois77]

She did such a good job, let us never leave our Leader's side no matter what happens! Hail OBAMA

[branchwater7]

damn!! she chopped it up, seasoned it, fried it, then served it draining on a paper bag. go 'head on, aretha!!!

[branchwater7]

i feel your fractured, falsetto aretha. i feel your jazzy church hat. i feel your muffled screams to god. do your work, honey!!!

[kattodling]

I think she did good,and why not choose a black woman to sing?! and he's black. well, look at his skincolor I don't think you would call that white nor black but brown.

[GunValkyre]

well anyway...back to the video comment...aretha franklind did horrible and i find it funny that they chose a black chick...just somthing to think about. and i wonder how many snipers they had at the inaguration. and i wonder why everybody always talks about obama being the first black president when he is 1/4 black and 1/2 white- so as it seems he is just another white president and we are still waiting for that revolutionary moment

[diakr0n]

ah, the dying whimpers of a soon-to-be hard left Marxist nation

[virtualSMG]

Well, it's either that or right-wing corruption.

Why else did George Bush go out? Just look at the republican leaders, I am British and I find all right-wing politicians are fools, and believe they are `god given`

Being a republican must be an embarrasment, i'm sure they (you) are all kicking yourself as a black man got in as a president.

There's the logic in your right-wing politics.

Redneck

[diakr0n]

"look at this... all are fools... all believe this..." so much for liberals (socialists) being open-minded and void of prejudice.

why is it that the liberal (socialist) is always the one who mentions that he's black? why are liberals (socialists) obsessed with race? and why do they pathetically attempt to project that obsession onto their enemies?

[virtualSMG]

Well, it was a moment in history; black man being elected as president.

That is revolutionary.

How many republicans would choose a black guy over a white guy? - most probably none.

[diakr0n]

yes, all republicans would automatically choose a white candidate over a black candidate.

Your understanding of American politics is amazing.

[Diablos97]

You're paranoid and hate hearing the fact that we finally got a black president?

Nice conspiracy you got going there, calling Liberals socialists. Quell the insults, please.

[diakr0n]

Obama's blackness (or lack thereof) is a non-issue.

Obama has a collectivist view of society and the role of government. This alone is sufficient cause to reject him as unfit for public office.

[ecm177]

that hat is so ugly

[jazzypayne09]

ahahahha

[RedneckBubba19]

God bless Aretha Franklin! That is such a beautiful song and Miss Aretha sang it so beautifully. I love her singing.

[revdrclj]

I am very proud of "Our Queen" she sang the song that Dr. King said many years ago that all Americans would sing .

[yvetteaonmyown]

The Queen of Soul was chosen by President Barack Obama and I defer to his wishes on his day. Thank you and GOD bless and protect our President and his family and his cabinet. Thank God that Aretha Franklin is still able to honor us with her voice and her presence and our LORD granted her the privilege to see this anointed day Amen.

[chrissikins]

puttin the cunt back into country..go Aretha!

[blip]

chrissikins, i LOVE your comment -- i laughed so hard! i like that you got 2 thumbs down... POWER TO THE VAG

[Esuper1]

cold weather, old singer or whatever. it was not good, i think we can agree on that. Not everything goes to plan. She should have lip synched it like the quartet did. maybe it would have sounded better then. maybe...

[19shea85]

"My CUNT-try 'tis of thee"

Wonderful phrasing. It doesn't get any better than that. Except her singing, by which I mean it's horrible.

[ibrahimkarimmadeira]

Pour OBAMA ,en cette occasion,un air que j'ai fredonné dans mon enfance avec encore plus d émotion aujourdhui au son de la voix de Aretha FRANKLIN mon autre idole

[tdottle246]

i love her but this sounded a hot mess

[Polyfilaman]

Most Canadians and Brits know this song as 'God Save the Kind / Queen' which was usurped by the Americans after the 1776 revolution and and turned into 'My country tis of thee'. The Americans changed all of the words to suit reflect their revolution. If Aretha Franklin THE GREAT wants to chage the song again - so be it. She is one awesome awesome singer who as far as I'm concerned moved everyone - including many Canadians who still use the old 'God Save the King / Queen' lirics.

[skye009]

LOVE THAT HAT GURRL!

[southeastdcboi]

the tone and range is still there in aretha voice but i do believe something is missing in her voice that she had at one point....

[themostlyrikal]

Well what the fuck! For all you idiot muthafuckas talking shit about her she is fuckin old dumbasses! Nigga! You cant stay young forever! Dick in the booty ass niggas! WHEN YOU GET OLD, YOUR SKILLS ARE NOT THE SAME AS WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG!

[southeastdcboi]

id rather not have a conversation with u because i voiced my opinion just like u and everyone else acting ignorant and cussing willl not get your point across so please do not respond to this because i have no time for the immature antics u have a good day

[themostlyrikal]

Nigga aint nobody tryin to have a muthafucking internet conversation wit yo ass. Its just comments on the muthafuckin internet. The shit aint even that important, bitch.

[southeastdcboi]

ok thats how u feel but that dosent mean i have to entertain your ignorant comments is your vocabulary that limited u have to cuss your way through every sentence come on now grow up

[DenaDemetria06]

they shouda had jennifer hudson sing it..........

[southeastdcboi]

yes i love jennifer hudson voice or even patti wouldve tore it up

[acruz617]

Sounded LiKe A DyinG ChiKen jeje

[acruz617]

WOw! she SucKEd .!!

[Freddy229]

The arrangement was great, a lower key may have given her more vocal mobility toward the end but we have to remember how cold it was. No one sings with their collar up that far on purpose. You could barely hear the background vocals even though what they were doing was laughable...the elements just weren't with us on this one. The classical quartet also played to a prerecorded performance that day as well. Let's hear her do it inside...!

[nigelhorsford]

okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk­kk

[rhavensunflower]

does anyone notice around 2:15-2:18 she says "shu up"????? Who was she talking to?

[yxals]

aretha has such a great voice, i wish she hadn't sung it in such a high note, but used her regular, soulful voice instead.

[Mattwood440]

my cunt.........ry tis of thee. I couldn't understand most of what she was trying to warble out. She's washed up. The citizens of Detroit know first hand what a trash can her house is and how she has to cancel concerts because she's too much of a whale to perform in even temperate heat.

[LocustIvy]

She should have at least learned the words to the song.

[calvinstrikesagain]

wrong, she is a great singer period. You can understand the words and she sings well. I felt it was appropriate to have a African American Women sing about Freedom. Did you miss that? Freedom to all in America how great that sounded.

You missed the point. Pay attention!!!!

[princessjunecake]

calvinstrikesagain

I agree!

[whitephoenixofcrown]

"I felt it was appropriate to have a African American Women sing about Freedom."

Amen.

[jjsmom4lyfe]

Granted she is a legend and at one time was a great singer even still a great singer on certain songs now...But this one right here was awful,sometimes I think people try to keep their career alive when their voice can't do it...Sometimes you just need to be a guest at the services and not participate and this was clearly one of those times...

[cartwheelmon]

I really love her, she is legend and I own several of her CD's. That said, this was awfull. When I heard it on the radio I had to turn it off. I chaulked it up to a bad adio uplink, but noooo it really should not "ring". Painful, truly painful.

[soulsurfer56]

Hey I seen this woman on my syrup bottle except she had a red scarf on her head.

[mauvelike]

Forget the hat if it bothers you. She was an appropriate choice to sing the anthem. It is painful to read careless criticism about such a legend.

[soulsurfer56]

As a white dude I would critisize any white woman that wore a joke like this on her head. You know this hat sucks too.

[Vergadoce]

That hat is actually conservative for her. She usually performs half naked with all that back fat hanging out. So thankfully it was cold1

[alfave487]

LOL 2:18

shut up

[Kiajw]

you guys can't have it both ways. she usually looks a hot mess. SHE LOOKS GREAT HERE! She sounds great as well.

[JonathansGurl91]

what is that thing eating Aretha's head?

[ezikah]

News outlets reported that after this rendition of "My Country Tis of Thee" by Miss Aretha Franklin, "The Queen of Soul" removed her hat and ate it.

[LGBCBB19]

This gives me goosebumps!

I could listen to it over and over!

[cycloneman3]

my cunt.... ry

hahahahahahah LMAO

[GABEUDEU]

Madam Franklin you are a great Lady the symbol to sing for this so special day is big! very big!

[princessjunecake]

To those leaving negative comments...

Just because her performance is not ghetto or trashy and doesn't contain profanity or low class material, does not mean that it's terrible.

Long live Aretha! You come from a better time of music than these people.

[Marvelous0ne]

We're not saying that. We're saying that her rendition was just plain awful! She sang it badly. The arrangement was bad. Over all it was just bad! Maybe if it was done in the arrangement of a mowtown song. Then she could have sung it right. But she couldn't. And as some are saying cause it was the weather and other things as an excuse. Sorry, not the case when you had other artists singing int he same weather and all and they did a brilliant job.

[polyptych]

Disaster! She would've gotten kicked off American Idol...

[daruvar1234567890]

Her music talent is larger than life, no doubt that. She is the one and only...

But i am still wondering what was that "shut up" at 2:18 all about?! Anybody???

[jamesmackey1]

she wasnt saying shut up it was

let it-tuh ring

[daruvar1234567890]

ok. thnx. i felt kind of weird even asking the question...

[youngThrashbarg]

She has been great.. but should have retired from singing a long time ago.

[lbenjam]

We must realize that Mrs. Franklin was in concert the day before. We must also realize that the weather was very bad for her voice. She still performed this anthem very well! Long live the Queen!

[donbuster1]

that arrangement was horrible!

[princessjunecake]

What would Soul music be without Aretha Franklin?!

NOTHING!

So please be respectful.

[confucious100]

My God, is this the best that the USA could offer to sing for the new president? Unbelievable.

[cjaymejames]

AF needs to sit down and give it up. She's all washed up like a beached whale. Hundreds of other people could have done this song, why her. Shit I could have done better.

[Marvelous0ne]

Oh Thank God! I missed this horrid rendition of one of our nation's anthems. She butchard it to the point I couldn't even recognize it. And plus Aretha! It My Country, not My Cunt! They should have got Tina Turner to sing it!

[LittoShe]

It's about the passion, the significance, her longevity, and her soulfulness, that made this performance amazing. We are lucky to have Aretha Franklin in our world.

[rockerspazhannah]

she's amazing. :D

[beckett136]

I think she is the greatest singer of all time!

[Jabari209]

Stop Hating hoes bet yall cant beat her singing so shut the HELL ^!!!!!!

[lilcoco77007]

I agree!

She is the queen of soul, please obey her throne!

She is legendary !

Aretha has made many marks in this world, most of us on this site even those who are music artists wish they could!

[mrcrackerfeld]

did they have the black version of gary glitter- r kelly?

[mzrobynia]

Made the hair stand up on my neck! Listened to her with my mouth open all the time She is AMAZING!!!!!!

[ladeeda77]

This was hideous. She used to be on point...it just wasn't happenin' yesterday though. I was embarrassed and I wasn't even the one singing. BTW the cold weather was not an excuse. Several ppl sang Sunday at the Lincoln memorial and it was very cold that day also...Not one of them sounded nearly as horrible as this.

[utubesuckstube]

She is a legend and all but this shit was straight garbage! It would have been better to put some noob like the ones who drag out every note of the national anthem up there. Or give one of the homeless guys living on a steam great a can of beans to fart out the song. Even then it would still sound better...Though it would smell like shit, sperm and lube cause of the favors he has been doing for some mad dog 20/20...

[benaheide]

ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring riiiiiiiinnngggg!!!

Fantastic though

[ashliberty]

lol.........................

[VinmanMJ23]

That hat set African-Americans back another 100 years.

[girlie294girlie]

once you go black you never go back!

[kangor44]

nice.

[SuzukaBoswini]

No one singular person can do that!!! Thank God. She's gonna be 67 in March and hasn't taken the best care of herself. Y'all act like she gangster rapped her way into singing this song for The Inauguration. She effed up some...So what!!! When she had it, she had it. As you can see, I love Aretha, but she could have done better and left those attempted high notes alone. If she was some other singer for whom I have no love, you would see how evil I can be!!! LOL!!! Luv y'all betchez!

[VinmanMJ23]

That was a joke. Please don't be offended. Aretha is a legend, but you have to admit that hat was tacky.

[eric29956]

jesus this is atrocious. that bow was cutting off circulation to her vocal chords. dontcare how cold it was. other singers didnt fuck up so much

[mudhound450]

She sounds like a dying cat

[grdma912]

There is a Time and Place for those of you with the negative comments. This is not the Time nor is it the Place.

Shame on you...........

The Queen is still and will always be the Queen........

[girlie294girlie]

I hope I could vote for this comment twice, but the system doesn't allow me...

[986crazy]

I can only imagine what she was feeling as she sang. Aretha...you're the best.

[charlie90027]

just because she's past her prime doesn't mean that her performance wasn't great, because it was--very moving, and it evoked so many memories. And don't forget how cold it was. All singers would have had trouble.

[iloveafrica86]

poor arthea... sistah just cant blow like she use to...

[droo1324]

she said cun not cunt -.-

yeah she has lost some performance, alotta falsetto but she still has technique

[eagleswing44]

Stop hatin yall! Aretha is a phenomenal talent and even though here voice may have lost some power she sang this song brilliantly! I was moved by her and the moment! Obama/Biden

[trayread]

i love aretha franklin, which made her performance here all the more disappointing.

[buenosdiers]

It was simply to high for her old voice. Still very moving.

[flalebon]

Her performance was soulful and moving. Her personal and musical history are appropriate for the ocassion and she still sounds awesome at 66 years old.

[girlie294girlie]

ARETHA WAS WONDERFUL!

LIKE ALWAYS.

[yagurlmonie]

THANK YOU .....

[daramoo2]

I know there are hard core Aretha fans (please dont hate me) but common, this could have been the musical highlight of the day What the heck was that?! Thank goodness for background. What happened to AF? THis is sad. They should have made the day of middle school children or another choir who will sing and sing excellently.

[LZAV94]

Did anyone hear her say shut up? It's at the 2:18 part. LOL

[vernee98]

hahaha...yea she sure did say shut up at 2:18!! Who the hell does that!!?? Thanks for pointing it out...I was looking hard for it!!

[yagurlmonie]

NOT SHE DIDNT SHE SAID IT REAL HARD

[whipittome]

Pure B.S. She says "LET IT-AH" dipping into her lower register. Obviously she was struggling with her top there. Never said shut up though. You guys are totally weird...

[buenosdiers]

She said "my cunt" though at the begining.

[BlaxxBchr]

OK, like they say in Business 101: "You cannot buy past performance!" Just because something was wonderful, popular, successful, profitable, or even amazing at one point in time; doesn't mean it still is or will ever be again.

Aretha Franklin's voice is "horrific" on this song. She can't hit any high notes at all. She has lost all tone of voice, and simply tries to "melisma" her way thru the song. It is disheartening how stars waste their money, and have to keep making unwanted comebacks.

[willifilm]

I totally agree. She was great at one point in time, but it is obvious that that time has passed. She hasn't kept herself in physical or vocal shape. The lyrics were slurred and even wrong at points. I understand the symbolism of her performing, but it was a bad performance.

[ralan66]

Love the pause in 'My Country'.  Came out 'My Cunt'

[cokeheart]

looks like she got drunk and fell into a christmas present.

[pearpeas]

oh my God--you are so wrong!!!! LOL. man I neeeded that laught. After Jhud's year, if she couldn't get that gig, she needed to fire her agent.

[ronaldinhollew]

1:10 is hillarious! I can't believe how bad this is!

She sounds like Cartman!

[SuzukaBoswini]

Everyone has to laugh when Cartman is mentioned!!!

[david5duros]

Shés the best singer ever

[crumbsnail]

Aretha was queen of soul at one point, but now she's just sad: her voice is shot, she's had too many fried chicken dinners. This gig should've gone to Tina Turner.

[slystaff777]

too many fried chicken dinners?!?!

[crumbsnail]

Do I have to spell it out? AF's been punishing herself with greasy food a la Elvis, for these past twenty years, and it shows in her face, her girth and most importantly, her voice. It's been downhill since that duet with George Michael. Most sad. And don't try none of that 'big boned girl' stuff on me.

[hunterpham120]

shut up at 1:08 - 1:17

[kerrigano]

I didn't hear that.

[hardcorehouse]

Kinda f--- up when she shouts shut up to someone towards the end.

[ivon19732000]

perfect

[hezbollah95818]

Awesome.