Metro

Aretha to sing praises

Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder

Aretha Franklin will pay her final respects to her beloved goddaughter, Whitney Houston, by singing at her funeral.

Franklin will join other members of music’s elite at the services tomorrow at the Newark church where the tragic star gave her first performance when she was just a young child.

The Queen of Soul yesterday recalled how she heard the terrible news about her protégé:

“I was watching TV on Saturday, and there was a bulletin on the bottom of the screen that said: ‘Whitney Houston is dead.’

“I was in shock. I stood up and then sat back down and kept watching, hoping it was all some kind of mistake.”

Other stars expected to perform at the private service include Stevie Wonder and gospel singers BeBe and CeCe Winans.

Franklin, who turns 70 next month, opens tonight at Radio City for two nights.

In between, she will pay tribute to Houston during the funeral at the New Hope Baptist Church. Singing for her fans, she said, is an important part of her grieving process.

“I know Whitney would have wanted me to do the show,’’ she said.

“Some people might want to close off the world at a time like this. I want to be with other people. That’s what helps me.”

She’s adding at least one song to her regular program for th Radio City shows — “I Will Always Love You.”

It will be the centerpiece of her tribute.

She rehearsed her homage at a private concert in Charlotte, NC, on Monday,

She told her audience, “I’d like for you all to share this moment with me in acknowledging one of the greatest singers that ever stood before an audience . . . I’m speaking of none other than Whitney Elizabeth Houston.”

Then, accompanying herself on piano with her orchestra as backup, she sang Houston’s signature song — but Franklin soon departed from the lyrics.

The daughter of a preacher, she sang, with gospel passion:

“This young lady’s going home. She was kind. She was good. We want to say, ‘Thank you, Whitney.’

“We want to say. ‘Thank you for the music and the legacy going on from generation to generation to generation.’ ”