Believe it or not, Aretha Franklin plans on putting a halt on her career by the end of the year after she completes recording the follow-up to 2014's Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics.
Franklin made the announcement in an interview with Detroit’s WDIV Local 4, revealing that she'll stop performing in concert after the completion of the new record, which is due in September. "I must tell you, I am retiring this year," the 74-year old titan told the NBC-affiliated TV station. "This will be my last year. I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."
The Queen of Soul said she'll launch a tour in support of the LP, but it won't be a full-fledged trek as the tour will plot one date per month and last about six months. Apart of that venture, Franklin plans to only make rare appearances from here on out. "I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now," the singer said. "I'll be pretty much satisfied, but I'm not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn't be good either."
In the meantime, her loyal followers can look forward to the forthcoming LP, which will only include original cuts and feature production by the legendary Stevie Wonder. It'll wrap up a career that saw Franklin score 18 Grammy Awards and sell over 75 million records worldwide.
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