Jennifer Hudson Channels Aretha Franklin To Sing ‘Young, Gifted & Black’ At BET Awards

Jennifer Hudson stunned with her performance of ‘Young, Gifted & Black,’ during the 2020 BET Awards, which were held virtually amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The show must go on, and that meant the 2020 BET Awards still took place on June 28 — although not exactly as planned! This year, the awards ceremony was done virtually, and Jennifer Hudson was one of the stars who performed during the two-hour event. As always, Jennifer sounded amazing as she belted out Aretha Franklin’s song, “Young, Gifted & Black,’ while wearing a green gown and playing piano.

Overall, it was an inspiring and beautiful performance. Jennifer will be playing Aretha in the upcoming biopic, RESPECT, and she proved that she can channel her to perfection with this performance. For her virtual set, Jennifer wore a green velvet dress with mesh sleeve and bejeweled neckline. he also pulled her hair back into an updo, and rocked green eyeliner to complete the gorgeous look.

With many restrictions on large gatherings still in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, many 2020 events have been postponed, cancelled or re-worked to take place virtually. The latter was the case for the BET Awards, which featured some of the biggest stars in the industry. Aside from Jennifer, other performers included Megan Thee Stallion, Usher, Lil Wayne, Chloe x Halle and many more.

In addition to performances, there were plenty of awards given out, as well. Beyonce received the biggest honor of the night, the Humanitarian Award, while stars like Drake, Megan, Cardi B and many others were amongst the nominees for other awards. There were also tributes to Kobe Bryant and Little Richard during the show.

Earlier this year, Jennifer performed at another buzzed-about virtual event, The Disney Family Singalong. She teamed up with John Legend for a rendition of “Beauty and the Beast,” and it was one of the most talked-about moments of the night! The event featured artists singing along to their favorite Disney tunes, and Jennifer and John definitely stood out.

Over the years, Jennifer has been nominated for seven BET Awards. She won two of those — Best Actress and Best New Artist — in 2007. Now, she has another amazing memory from the show thanks to her 2020 performance!