Playing the Queen of Soul is no easy ride, which is why Aretha Franklin needed to handpick the lucky star to play her in an upcoming biopic.

Aretha chose Jennifer Hudson!!!

The announcement was made by Clive David at his epic pre-Grammys party. “[People often ask me] where will the next Aretha, the next Whitney [Houston] come from? The one candidate right now has to be … Jennifer Hudson. She will be cast in the biopic, to be filmed next year, of Aretha, and Aretha has chosen Jennifer to play her.”

Following the announcement, Jennifer sang a tribute to Aretha.