Aretha Franklin's Granddaughter Made Quite A Splash On American Idol

It's no secret that "American Idol" is all about producing stars. The show arguably has one of the best track records of any of the many shows of its kind, making household names out of the likes of Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, and many more.

But then there are those times when someone who's actually related to a household name comes onto the show, which has perhaps happened more times than you might remember. Case and point? Back in 2014, country star Jo Dee Messina's cousin, Alex Preston, made it pretty far during Season 12, while Amelia Presley, the distant cousin of none other than Elvis (yes, the Elvis Presley!) appeared on the show in 2018.

But that's not all. Cast your mind back a bit further and you may remember when Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino's late brother, Ricco Barrino, auditioned for the show in 2007 — but didn't make it anywhere near as far as his famous sister.

Well, now one of those famous family ties has come up again, as none other than Aretha Franklin's granddaughter, Grace Franklin, tried her luck in front of judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan during the Season 20 premiere episode on ABC. And this is how it went...

Grace Franklin opened up about being "really close" to her late grandmother, Aretha Franklin, during her "American Idol" audition, though she admitted that growing up she wasn't aware of just how famous the star really was. "I don't think I could fully grasp the fact that she was known worldwide, because to me she was always just Grandma," she admitted.

Grace didn't sing one of her grandma's songs, instead putting her own spin on the Lauryn Hill version of "Killing Me Softly." However, the judges had other ideas and Katy Perry instead asked her to take on one of Aretha's biggest hits, the powerful "Ain't No Way."

But things got divided with the judges gave their critiques. Perry wanted to put her through to the next round, but Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie weren't convinced — with things getting a little heated. The "365" singer felt so strongly that she tried to get Richie to change his mind before jokingly walking out of the judging room, shouting, "I quit this show. I'm going to the bar!"

Richie's mind didn't change, and Grace failed to make it through to Hollywood.

Grace appeared to take it all in her stride, though, writing on Instagram after the February 27 episode aired, "even though i didn't make it through, i had a really amazing time! the amount of knowledge i gained and amazing artists i met will truly stick with me for a very long time [sic]."