Taylor Swift Honors Aretha Franklin at Detroit Concert: She 'Made Our World a Better Place'

Karen Mizoguchi
Updated

Days ahead of Aretha Franklin‘s funeral in her hometown of Detroit, Taylor Swift honored the late Queen of Soul.

On Tuesday evening, the Reputation singer, 28, performed at Detroit’s Ford Field where she asked the sold-out crowd to pay tribute to Franklin with a moment of silence.

“Last week we lost an irreplaceable force. Aretha Franklin did so much for music, she did so much for women’s rights, she did so much for civil rights,” Swift told concertgoers as heard on videos shared by fans on social media.

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“She was one of those people where no matter what you said, no matter what glowing positive thing you said about her, it would be an understatement. Words could never, ever describe how many things she did in her lifetime that made our world a better place. And this is her home,” the pop star continued.

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“I would like it if we could have a moment of silence so that every single one of us could reflect on our love and respect for her and everything that she did in her life. So if we could please cut the lights, we’ll have a moment of silence for Aretha,” Swift said. “We love you Aretha.”

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Franklin died at age 76 of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 16.

On Tuesday, the first of the two days of her funeral, which is open to the public, hundreds of people, some of whom spent the night on the sidewalk to save their spots in line, showed up to pay their respects at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Franklin’s body was dressed in a red suit and crimson pumps in a gold-plated casket. Gold thread spelled out “Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul” in the casket’s lining.

On Friday, Franklin’s private service, which will be streamed online and on television, will take place.