In preparation for my interview later tonight with Gabby Sidibe, the best actress nominee for “Precious,” I’ve been reading everything about her life that I can get my hands on. Moments ago, I came across a video of her mother, a popular street and subway singer in Harlem named Alice Tan Ridley, performing Aretha Franklin‘s classic “I Will Survive” in a New York City subway. I felt this was worth sharing because (a) she’s really good, and (b) this is also the woman who Lee Daniels invited to audition for the part of Mary (which Mo’Nique eventually played) in his film, but who passed on it because she found it too disturbing, and who then gave her daughter the book on which it is based — Sapphire‘s “Push” — to help her understand why. Had Alice not done so, Gabby would never have been familiar enough with the material to audition for the part on a whim four years later and eventually win it over 400 other girls, changing her life forever.