zipnose91 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

For a great read check out A Step Into Deliverance by Toni Pugh. It's a real page-turner!

tenfiveracer (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

oh my god this is horrible !!! stick to soul ,you are overstepping your limits ..My ears hurt..

BMartinso (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Aretha Franklin MAS KA FILHA DA PUTA SO PODIA FRANKLIN NEE SUA PUTA

ilovenycmissie (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

an opera singer she is not, no one is listening, its terible, stick to soul sistah

modo203 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

this is humiliating.. not only fat and ugly, but also spoiling Puccini's greatest masterpieces.. try RAP Bit**!!

jalex11 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I agree...and to drive the point even further, Imagine Pavarotti singing "Respect". This is just as ridiculous.

jalex11 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

ok i don't think this performance is good at ALL, but since you had to go and get vulgar about the QUEEN here goes: You are one SILLY BITCH to talk about a LEGEND this way. She is a PIONEER of Soul music. Lani is good but she is NOT Aretha and she doesn't have the soul or musicianship of Aretha. Your disrespectful language and inability to express your opinion in an intelligent, informed way just shows your ignorance and discredits your opinion.

linguistmuz (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I respect the opinion that Aretha Franklin went "too far" here, but as a classical music and opera lover I would say that she does this beautifully. Of course, this wouldn't make any sense in the context of the real opera, but I think she captures the energy of the music very well. I think that this performance could show many people that opera actually has the same level of liveliness and energy as soul. This is one of the few examples of cross-over that I actually like.

gabyyy (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I totally agree with the person below me. Do not ruin beautiful classical pieces! Plus it's almost like "oh anyone can do what you do" and that's like a slap in the face to me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Aretha...but I do not enjoy her singing this song.

HaquinusDeGothia (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

There's a thin line between love and hate... In my oppinnion the godess of soul shouldn't have messed with this piece - just as operasingers, or other singers of any kind, shouldn't mess with her pieces. Some thing should just be left alone, no matter how tempting it may be to make a 'personal version' of them. I can only hope and pray that this was a one-time only.