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Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	October 17, 2014
Recorded	2013–14
Genre	R&B soul pop
Length	40:26
Label	RCA
Producer	André "3000" Benjamin Clive Davis (exec.) Antonio Dixon Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds Aretha Franklin (exec.) Terry Hunter Eric Kupper Harvey Mason, Jr. Dapo Torimiro Wayne Williams
Aretha Franklin chronology
A Woman Falling Out of Love (2011) Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (2014) A Brand New Me (2017)
Singles from Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
"Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" Released: September 29, 2014

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin and was released on October 17, 2014. It features ten covers of songs made famous by female recording artists.

This was Franklin's first and only recording for RCA Records, her first studio album to be released under a major label in 11 years (since the release of her 2003 studio album, So Damn Happy), and her first album since 1998 to be executively produced by Clive Davis, her boss at Arista Records, which has since folded into RCA. It is also her last studio album of entirely new and original recordings created prior to her death in 2018; the 2017 album A Brand New Me features vintage vocal performances from the 1960s and 1970s, paired with newer orchestral arrangements.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	66/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Billboard
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)	A−
Entertainment Weekly	B−
Financial Times
Rolling Stone

Clive Davis called the album "purely and simply sensational" and said of Aretha Franklin, "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. What a voice." Production on the album includes R&B producers Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Harvey Mason, Jr., hip-hop musician André 3000, and house producers Terry Hunter and Eric Kupper among others.

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics has an average score of 66 based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rolling Stone journalist Will Hermes called the album a "delightful covers set" that showed that "Aretha can still step into the pop world at whim with total authority." Steve Morse, writing for The Boston Globe, noted that "Divas are everywhere these days, but there's still only one Aretha. At age 72, Franklin can still shut down the competition with a breathtaking, gospel-trained grace and power."

Entertainment Weekly critic Tim Stack found that while Franklin "delivers a rollicking take on Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep'," the "covers of other lady icons — Chaka, Barbra, Etta — feel dated or ill-conceived. It all plays like the official soundtrack to Gay Pride 1977." Allmusic editor Andy Kellman wrote that "if there's one positive thing that can be said about the results, it's that Aretha sounds like she had a ball. The energy she put into these versions helps make up for the vocal shortcomings and audible use of Auto-Tune. She could have played it simple and straight, yet she clearly enjoyed the recording process, from melismatic accents to an abundance of personalized touches Some of the creative moves are very questionable."

Commercial performance

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 23,000 copies in its first week. The album is her 38th top 20 album. The album also debuted at number 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. and one on Billboard's R&B albums charts. Per Luminate Entertainment, formerly Nielsen Sound Scan, this disc has sold 104,000 copies - as of 2024.

The first single released from the album was a cover of singer Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", subtitled as "The Aretha Version", which also includes an interpolation of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The single debuted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Aretha Franklin thus became the first woman, and fourth artist overall (following Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and James Brown), to place 100 songs on the chart (with her first entry on the chart being "Today I Sing the Blues" in 1960).

Track listing

Notes

• signifies a vocal producer
• "Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" contains an interpolation of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.
• "I Will Survive (The Aretha Version)" contains an interpolation of "Survivor" by Destiny's Child.

Charts

Notes

1. "iTunes - Music - Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics by Aretha Franklin". iTunes.
2. ^ "Reviews for Sings the Great Diva Classics by Aretha Franklin – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
3. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Aretha Franklin – Sings the Great Diva Classics". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
4. "Aretha Franklin Album Review: 'Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics': - Billboard". Billboard.
5. Christgau, Robert (December 5, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
6. ^ Stack, Tim (October 17, 2014). "Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
7. "Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics – review". Financial Times.
8. ^ Hermes, Will (October 21, 2014). "Sings the Great Diva Classics". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
9. "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
10. "Aretha Franklin says new cover album feels fresh". naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
11. "Aretha Franklin To Release New Studio Album 'Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics' Out 10/21". The Official RCA Records Site.
12. Morse, Steve (October 20, 2014). "Aretha Franklin, 'Sings the Great Diva Classics'". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
13. ^ "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
14. "Rolling In The Deep (The Aretha Version)". Qobuz.
15. "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
16. "Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics: Dance Remixes". Amazon.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
17. "Australiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
18. "Ultratop.be – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
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20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
21. "Lescharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
22. "Italiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
23. "Gaon Album Chart:2014.10.19~2014.10.25" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
24. "Spanishcharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
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26. "Aretha Franklin | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
27. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
28. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
29. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2020.

• Aretha Franklin albums
• 2014 albums
• RCA Records albums
• Disco albums by American artists
• 2010s covers albums
• Albums produced by Babyface (musician)
• Albums produced by André 3000
• Albums produced by Clive Davis