During an interview with Variety, Khan hilariously said of the song: "It's not gonna change the world, okay?"
Ten-time Grammy winner Chaka Khan delivered the ultimate tell-it-like-it-really-is response when asked about her upcoming duet with singer Ariana Grande.
Earlier this month, Grande revealed the tracklist for the upcoming Charlie's Angels soundtrack, which she is executive producing. Most notable among the listed featured artists-Nicki Minaj and Normani are among them-is the Queen of Funk herself, Chaka Khan. "Excited and honored to have so many phenomenal, bad ass [mother f*ckin'] women involved in this incredibly special project," Grande wrote on Instagram.
The track, titled "Nobody," was first announced by Khan back in June during an appearance on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live. "I'm not supposed to be telling?" she asked her manager (who was bartending on air that night) after she let the cat out of the bag on the song's existence. "Oh sh*t!" she exclaimed when it was confirmed that she was, in fact, not.
But now that the song's existence has officially been confirmed, Khan is happy to offer up more details, as she did when asked about it at Variety's Power of Women luncheon earlier this month. (The luncheon honored Khan as well as Jennifer Aniston, Awkwafina, Mariah Carey, Brie Larson, and Disney Television Studios chairman Dana Walden.)
Ariane Grande 2018 iHeartRadio Wango Tango By AT&T - Show. PhotoCredit: Kevin Winter (Getty Images)
"It's a great song," Khan said matter of factly when asked what she could divulge about the upcoming duet. "It's a cute song," she added with a slightly menacing smile that seemed to let on that there was more to what she was saying.
"It's a song, y'know, about Charlie's Angels," she continued when pressed for what the song was about. "It's, y'know, it's..." she continued, playfully fixing her hair with her signature fan as she thought through how best to respond. And then it came, a brand of honesty so rare it almost felt cathartic to hear. "It's not gonna change the world, okay?" she responded with an infectious laugh. "It's a good song in the movie." Then, Khan pivoted: "I also just finished a Disney film, yes, but that's all I can say about that."
Chaka Khan reveals what you can expect in her collab with Ariana Grande on the 'Charlie's Angels' soundtrack https://t.co/IA9FyJubkC | Variety's Power of Women luncheon presented by @LifetimeTV
Twitter of course took notice of the (perhaps unintended, but still pretty funny) expertly shady response. "At what age does our legends reach their shadiest because Chaka has reached her Aretha level?!" one Twitter user wrote. "We love an honest queen," wrote another.
Others praised the singer for not overhyping the project, as is often the norm for a duet with two stars of this magnitude. "Everything doesn't need to be described as epic (because everything isn't)," wrote one Twitter user. "I love this."
The heavily anticipated though not-gonna-change-the-world song will be released as part of the Charlie's Angels original motion picture soundtrack on November 3. But let's be honest: For a woman like Khan, who's changed the world time and time again with a rich musical legacy spanning five decades, we're just happy she's still making music.
