Twenty two minutes after she was asked to cover for her ailing friend, Luciano Pavarotti, Aretha Franklin takes the stage sans key change to perform the legendary aria “Nessun Dorma”, a piece she sang previously a few days earlier (in her own register, I might add). It begets one of the most extraordinary musical moments in awards show history. It brought the audience to a thunderous ovation.
For some reason I was watching that night, and I’ll never forget it.
