Chloe Bailey's "Feeling Good" Cover Earned Nina Simone Family Approval

Once again, Chloe Bailey has stopped the world — and we love it.

On Friday (June 18), Chloe Bailey performed “Feeling Good,” a cover of Nina Simone’s 1965 classic, onstage at the ABC special event Juneteenth: Together We Triumph - A ’Soul of a Nation. The song is her first solo release without sister Halle, and it’s part of the compilation album Music for the Movement Volume 3.

A dynamic performer, Chloe drew lots of attention online by taking to the stage in a bedazzled, sequined one-piece and delivering a rousing, full-throttle performance that proved she truly is Beyoncé’s protege. While many viewers were impressed by Chloe’s vocal range and showmanship, others criticized the 22-year-old for her routine, claiming it was “too sexy” and not appropriate for a Nina Simone cover.

Enter Nina Simone’s own granddaughter, RéAnna Simone Kelly, who fully supported Chloe’s performance and called attention to her grandmother’s legacy. She took to Twitter over the weekend, writing, “Everyone’s coming at @ChloeBailey for her performance of my grandmother Nina Simone’s song ‘Feeling Good.’ But what y’all don’t understand is that grandma was a free spirited woman herself!! She would’ve loved that performance as much as I do! Relax. Chloe killed it.”

“Grandma was unapologetically herself,” she added. “She was a muhhhfuckin bad*ss woman who did what she wanted when she wanted. She was a sexual woman and she expressed that. Educate yourselves !! If grandma could she probably would’ve done that performance herself.”

In response, Chloe acknowledged Nina Simone’s impact on her own life. “Your grandmother!! what a legacy!!! i will forever x always love Ms. Simone,” she tweeted back. Chloe also went on to perform “Feeling Good” on Good Morning America on June 21.

This isn’t the first time that Chloe has faced internet backlash for her sensuality. Earlier this year, random internet people expressed displeasure at Chloe taking part in the #BussItChallenge and Silhouette Challenge. Whether this stemmed from not giving child stars the space to transition into adulthood or not being able to watch a Black woman be comfortable in her sensuality, the comments were shocking and hurtful for her. The older of the sister duo later shared that it had taken her a while to be confident in her body. "With my songwriting and producing, I feel so badass and I get the same feeling when I dance in my room, when I just own who I am and my body," she said at the time. "And for so long, I used to think I was, like, fat, and like, I used to hate my stretch marks and my cellulite. But it's like now, I really love who I am."

Thankfully the criticism has not deterred Chloe. Nina Simone was a revolutionary musician and singer who defied the establishment on race, colorism, gender, and sexual orientation; she was even known to have danced naked in The Maze, a Monrovian discotheque in Liberia, in the late 1960s. In conclusion, Ms. Simone was an activist and a free spirit — and if her granddaughter says that she would have loved Chloe Bailey’s version of “Feeling Good,” then who is anyone on the internet to argue?

Let us slide into your DMs. Sign up for the Teen Vogue daily email.

Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Chloe Bailey’s Viral Video Is Proof of Music’s Trap for Black Women

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue