00:00Tell me to leave you alone.
00:03My father said come on home.
00:10Hi, Cynthia.
00:11So good to see you.
00:12How are you?
00:13I'm good.
00:13How are you doing?
00:14Good.
00:16Congratulations on this series.
00:17It's truly incredible.
00:20And, you know, expectations are so high whenever there's a biopic of any sort, and especially
00:25for Aretha Franklin.
00:26You know, were you nervous at all taking on this part?
00:29I mean, yeah, I wanted to make sure that we, you know, we did her justice.
00:35And she's such a huge part of so many people's lives, mine included, that I wanted to make
00:41sure that we told the story as truthfully and fully as we possibly can, but also did her
00:46proud.
00:47You know, there is that.
00:48You want to make sure that this woman who is looking down on us from where she is, is
00:54made pleased so that, you know, we all reap the benefits of that.
00:58Yeah.
00:58And so, so that's just, that's what I was hoping to do.
01:02And I was really excited also to get to know her more, to learn her music more, to learn
01:07the songs that I didn't know.
01:08And there are many.
01:09And she made so much that I was astounded by songs that were from the 50s and the 60s
01:15that I didn't know existed.
01:17And hearing like first recordings and TV recordings of her singing rock about it.
01:21Like it, I was so excited by the prospect of knowing things that I didn't know about
01:26her and getting to know her in a way that I hadn't as well.
01:30Yeah.
01:30And, you know, your voice talking about the recordings, I mean, it truly brings every
01:36scene, you know, to life.
01:38You know, was there any special vocal preparation you went through or like vocal rest routines
01:45and things you had to do while taping?
01:48Yeah.
01:48I mean, I'm a stickler for like trying to make sure that my voice is up to scratch and
01:52like healthy.
01:53And I had a vocal coach, Antaea, who was really, really wonderful.
01:57And we would sit and we would, I think like each song we would sit for about an hour or
02:01hour or two and just work through each song bit by bit by bit by bit, just so that we
02:06could really find the pattern of what was going on in each piece.
02:09Because each song is very different and the way she sings each song has a different approach.
02:13You know, singing Son of a Preacher Man is very different to singing Border Song is different
02:19to singing, I don't know, Chain of Fools.
02:21It's all very like she just, she's different places in her voice and different styles that
02:27it's just, there's this sort of exploration that you have to do of your voice and what
02:31can it do?
02:32Where can it go?
02:33And how are we going to approach this top note here?
02:35Because this one's full and this one's not so full.
02:37And like, it's that.
02:39And yeah, there was loads of prep because I wanted to make sure that I could, when we're
02:43on set, that I could do it.
02:46But I sort of relish that.
02:49I'm like, you know, I'm greedy when it comes to learning things that my voice can do.
02:53So I was just like, more, more, give me more.
02:55Yeah.
02:57I love that scene, like you're at the piano and you start singing and now I can't remember
03:01the song, but you're like, that's too easy.
03:03You know, I'm like, it's an arrangement.
03:07You know, are just beautiful.
03:11You know, and also to your point of learning more about Aretha.
03:14Like I tried to stop myself from like Googling throughout, but there were so many things
03:18like I thought I knew or just, you know, bringing back memories.
03:22And also just thinking of how many difficulties and things she became.
03:26Were there any scenes for you that were particularly difficult while filming?
03:31Yeah.
03:31I mean, and I don't know if you've seen this one yet.
03:34It comes up towards the end when she, and this was something that I, I didn't realize
03:39when she loses her father, when she knows that her father is, is dying.
03:44Yeah.
03:45I didn't realize that she had held onto him.
03:48He was on life support for, for five years.
03:50I didn't know that.
03:52Yeah.
03:53To me, it was just desperately sad because it showed how much, one, she was scared to
04:00let him go and two, how much she loved him.
04:04And I, it's such a, you know, father daughter relationships are so delicate and sometimes
04:10complicated and strained and, but also very deep.
04:16And so I learned that about her, that was a particularly difficult scene to film her
04:21essentially saying goodbye and expressing just how scared she was to let him go.
04:27That was a really difficult scene to.
04:30Yeah.
04:31Yeah.
04:32So painful.
04:34And as someone who, who was raised by a single mother and who, you know, had a moment with,
04:42with her own father and knowing that it was like, that was a desperately sad time in my
04:46life to understand that the letting go of something in that way, whether it be sooner
04:52or later, it's still a desperately sad moment to experience.
04:56Yeah.
04:57Yeah.
04:59And, and lastly, you know, when I first got to interview you was for the color purple on
05:04Broadway when I, I mean, I was a fan that night.
05:07You know, it's been amazing just watching your career, um, over that time.
05:21And obviously, you know, Jennifer Hudson in that film, she's going to be playing everything.
05:25Have you two compared notes?
05:26Have you talked to, can we get a dual performance?
05:29Yeah.
05:30We haven't compared notes.
05:31Um, I, I wished her, um, congratulations.
05:33And like, cause I saw when that trailer came out, I thought it was wonderful.
05:37Um, if she wanted to do a dual performance, I would be happy to do it.
05:41Um, I'm really looking forward to watching her film.
05:44I think it's going to be very special and, and well-deserved, you know?
05:47Yeah.
05:47Um, I know that she was very close to Aretha and so there's nothing more that, that she
05:53could wish for.
05:54And I think that would be a wonderful thing to be able to show.
05:56And we get two of these things, which is such a cool thing.
05:59I know.
05:59It's beautiful.
06:00Like this is so awesome.
06:02So yes, I'll be there.
06:05I'll be watching.
06:05Yes.
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