Beyonce, Common, John Legend Bring Old and New Gospel to GRAMMY-Ending Performance
By Brian Ives
Common and John Legend performed their already-classic "Glory" from Selma, at the GRAMMYs to close out the night. The song won a Golden Globe and seems to have a strong shot at winning an Academy Award at the Oscars in a few weeks.
Related: What Are the Odds of Common & John Legend Winning an Oscar for ‘Glory’?
The performance began with Beyonce's rendition of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" with the singer dressed in angelic white and backed by a gospel choir all dressed in white but barefoot.
Common and John Legend then led a huge string section through an emotional "Glory."
While Beyonce's fans were feeling a bit jilted that Bey didn't win Album of the Year a few minutes earlier, R&B singer Ledisi's fans were a bit upset about Yonce performing "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."
Ledisi played gospel great Mahalia Jackson in Selma, and sang that song in the film. Indeed, Ledisi responded to the controversy on the GRAMMYs red carpet, admitting that she "had no clue" why Beyonce was performing it over her.
However, she was gracious about her situation: "What I will say and what I’m excited about is that I had the pleasure of playing an iconic figure in Selma, and the song, ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord,’ it’s been going on forever – starting with the queen Mahalia [Jackson], the queen of soul Aretha Franklin,” Ledisi told ET’s Kevin Frazier on the carpet.
“Then, I was able to portray and sing my version of the song, and now we have Beyonce. Her generation will now know the song, so I’m a part of history,” she said.