Christina Aguilera Performs At Etta James’ Funeral

Christina Aguilera performed a moving version of Etta James’ classic single ‘At Last’ at the singer’s funeral, which took place yesterday (January 28) in Gardena, Los Angeles. Aguilera, who frequently covers James’ seminal hit during her live shows, performed the song in front of mourners, who included soul icon Stevie Wonder. You can watch a video of Aguilera performing ‘At Last’ by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking. Before she sang, Aguilera paid tribute to Etta James, saying:

“It is an amazing honour for me to have been welcomed here today, invited here to pay tribute to the great Miss Etta James. I’ve since I’ve been able to tour, I’ve gone round the whole wide world and I would tell people that Miss Etta James was my favourite singer.”

She continued:

“It’s very emotional for me to sing today, as this has meant so much to me. All my life, I’ve aspired to sing like Etta James, to be like her, of all the singers I’ve ever heard, she was the one who cut right to my soul.”

James passed away on Friday 20th January at the age of 73. She had been suffering from terminal leukemia, kidney disease, hepatitis C and dementia. The singer was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993 and received six Grammy awards. She released 30 albums during her career.