Aretha Franklin dressed in different outfit during last day of public viewing before funeral

The 'Queen of Soul' will be laid to rest on Friday

As a week of mourning continues for Aretha Franklin, who died nearly two weeks ago at the age of 76, it was with joy that fans noticed the late singer had been dressed in a different outfit for the second day of public viewing in her hometown of Detroit, where hundreds came to pay their respects to the "Queen of Soul".

The public viewing was held at Detroit’s Charles H Wright Museum of African American History from August 28 to 29, also the site of a 2005 viewing of Rosa Parks, prior to a second, smaller viewing set to take place at New Bethel Baptist Church on August 30.

On the second day of viewing, Franklin was dressed in a sheer baby-blue dress with matching shoes - a change from the vibrant red dress she wore on Tuesday.

On the inside of the lid of Franklin's gold casket, embroidered into the fabric, read Aretha Franklin The Queen Of Soul.

Ahead of the open-casket viewing, mourners slept on the sidewalk, as reported by the Free Press, eager to pay their last respects to the soul singer who touched the lives of so many with her music.

And as they approached the casket, many people smiled, cried, crossed themselves, bowed their heads or blew kisses.

Gina Moorman attended Tuesday night's sorority ceremony staged in Franklin's honour at the museum and returned on Wednesday, the AP reported.

"I wasn't even going to do it, but I wanted to see her again," said Ms Moorman, 57, as she waited with hundreds of others in a line that snaked around to the back of the museum and beyond.

Ms Moorman did not know Franklin personally, but that did not seem to matter - the music, she said, drew her in as it conveyed joy, pain and all things in between.

"She was intertwined in all of our lives," she said, adding that her love for the singer "started with 'Respect'."

"We're just feeling good about seeing the Queen."

Following the two days of viewing, a free, public concert honouring Franklin’s legacy at Detroit’s Chene Park Amphitheatre is being held on August 30.

The concert, “A People’s Tribute to the Queen”, was organised by Franklin’s family and will take place the night before the funeral.

Tickets to the show, which will include tributes and performances from R&B, all-star, jazz and gospel groups, sold out within minutes.

On Friday, a private funeral for the late singer, who died from pancreatic cancer on August 16, will be held at the New Bethel Baptist Church, with performances by Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, and Jennifer Hudson.

Aretha Franklin's body was carried in a gold casket (Getty)

People came to pay their respects to the late singer (Getty)

Franklin will be laid to rest at the city’s Woodlawn Cemetery following the service.

Additional reporting by the AP.