Since the release of her acclaimed debut solo record, Jaime, last year, Brittany Howard has been a staple on late-night television. The singer recently shared performances of her music on The Late Late Show and The Tonight Show. But in an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Howard went off-script.
Instead of sharing a rendition of one of her own songs, Howard chose to pay tribute to one of the greats: Nina Simone. Taking the stage backed by a full band, she shimmied around the set as she delivered the lyrics to Simone’s poignant 1969 track “Revolution.” Howard put her soul into the performance, belting out the stirring lyrics with animation as her band kept time with jazzy instrumentation. “And now we got a revolution / Cause I see the face of things to come / Yeah, your Constitution / Well, my friend, its gonna have to bend,” she sang.
Howard’s performance came on the tail-end of some exciting news. Just before she took Colbert’s stage, the Recording Academy nominated her for five Grammy Awards. She’s been nominated for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Music Album, Best R&B Performance, and Best American Roots Performance.
Watch Brittany Howard perform Nina Simone’s “Revolution” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert above.
Jaime is out now via ATO. Get it here.