Cynthia Erivo’s portrayal as Aretha Franklin is simply heart-stopping.
PEOPLE is presenting a first look at an upcoming episode of Genius: Aretha titled “Amazing Grace.” It’s the sixth in the anthology series and takes viewers through Franklin’s process of recording her best-selling live gospel album Amazing Grace during the early 1970s.
In the first two clips of the sneak peek, Aretha’s father C.L. Franklin (played by Courtney B. Vance) proudly introduces his daughter during a religious service.
Erivo then impresses everyone with her vocal talents as she channels Franklin at the piano in the second clip.
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The full episode is slated to air on National Geographic Tuesday (March 23) simultaneously with the fifth episode, “Young, Gifted and Black.”
Erivo told Entertainment Weekly recently that she landed the role as Franklin by singing a portion of “Ain’t No Way” at the 2019 Tony Awards, when a reporter asked on the red carpet what her guilty-pleasure song was.
“Unbeknownst to me, that interview gets sent to [executive producers] Clive Davis and Brian Grazer, [and] the rest is history,” Erivo said. “I get a call from my agent, who says National Geographic is doing the next Genius and it’s about Aretha Franklin and they would like you to consider playing the role, and there’s a meeting coming up if you want to take it.”
Watch the first look here.
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