Aretha Franklin once asked Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmond for relationship advice.
Kenneth, 62, revealed that the late Queen of Soul – who passed away in 2018 at the age of 76 – turned to him for love advice a few years before she died, because she considered him an expert due to the love songs he had written.
Speaking on an Instagram Live celebration for the 25th anniversary of the ‘Waiting To Exhale’ soundtrack, Babyface – who wrote and produced the record – said: “Five years ago I performed with Aretha . . . I sat in her [dressing] room and she told everyone to leave . . . then she said, ‘You be writing all these love songs and I want your advice’. She said, ‘I’m seeing this gentleman and I’m gonna tell you some of the things he’s been doing. And I’m trying to decide if I want to date him or not’ . . . I said, ‘I wouldn’t trust this gentleman.’ About a month later I got a call and she said, ‘You were right, Face. He wasn’t the one.'”
Meanwhile, Jennifer Hudson recently wrapped filming on the movie ‘Respect’ in which she plays Aretha and she called the experience a “dream”.
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She wrote on Instagram: “It is officially a wrap on @respectmovie wrap it up , it’s done! Too overwhelmed to get into it right now but words can’t express how grateful I am to be chosen by the queen herself and to live out yet another dream ! It was my honor, to honor the Queens request ! The one and only Queen of soul #ArethaFranklin #respectMovie
Back in 2017, Jennifer revealed she had met with Aretha to discuss playing her in a film. She spilled: “It is my dream role, and she and I have met and there are … very exciting discussions happening.”
Jennifer had also previously admitted the only other musical movie she would do after ‘Dreamgirls’ was one portraying Aretha, and she was lucky enough to land such a role after being hand-picked by her for the part.
Speaking in 2018, she added: “She selected me to play her in her biopic. That’s what she said. The queen has spoken.
“It’s been a dream of mine. I’ve always said, if I ever do another music-based film, I feel like the only thing that could compare to ‘Dreamgirls’ is to play Aretha Franklin. It is a dream come true for me.”
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