Ariana Grande 'breaks down in tears' after paying tribute to Aretha Franklin with emotional rendition of Natural Woman

Ariana Grande was overcome with emotion as she performed classic track Natural Woman, in tribute to the late Aretha Franklin.

The pop star reportedly broke down in tears after her emotional rendition of the song on Thursday’s Tonight Show, just hours after the news of the superstar’s death.

The powerful song, performed alongside Questlove and The Roots at the beginning of the show, had the audience on their feet as they gave her a standing ovation.

Grande had originally only been scheduled to take part in a comedy skit alongside host Jimmy Fallon ahead of her album release on Friday but she changed her plans at the last minute.

According to TMZ, the singer was asked to perform a tribute to the late star just moments before the show, but Grande told them she was “too emotional.”

She later agreed but reportedly broke down in tears as soon as she left the set and went backstage.

News of Franklin’s death was announced on Thursday afternoon, with stars including Sir Elton John, Paul McCartney and John Legend to pay tribute on Twitter.

Franklin’s publicist revealed that the singer had passed Thursday at 9:50am at her home in Detroit, surrounded by friends and family.

The statement said: “Franklin’s official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin’s oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute."

The family added: “In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family.”

Grande was on the Tonight Show to promote her eagerly-awaited fourth album, Sweetener, which is released on Friday.