If you have any ounce of holiday blues still hanging on, here's some free advice — watch Aretha Franklin's tribute to Carole King at the Kennedy Center Honors as soon as possible. Not only does The Queen of Soul's performance of "Natural Woman" at the 2015 ceremony have the entire audience singing along and practically jumping up and down, but Carole King was the most delighted person in the whole room and she wrote the song.
I'm not saying King was wrong to do so; my jar was open the entire time as well. First of all, Franklin (a Kennedy Center Honor recipient as well) strolls out there cool as a cucumber holding a clutch and wearing the most luxurious fur coat I've ever seen (pictured above) and then sits down at the piano to accompany herself. What?! That doesn't happen often, let me tell you. The living legend eventually stood up and shed her coat in ultimate diva move to finish the song. Viola Davis was cheering. The President and First Lady were crying. But the biggest fan was the very woman being honored.
She wasn't the only one to pay tribute to Carole King's music. Franklin followed some heavy hitters who also had King giddy from her seat. The other performers who honored King included the cast of Broadway's Beautiful, Janel Monáe, Sara Bareilles, and James Taylor. I think the lesson here is to try and go through life, especially when you are being thanked or paid a compliment, with as much enthusiasm and delight as Carole King getting her Kennedy Center Honor tribute performance.
