Kelly Rowland Nails Gladys Knight's Voice & Look in 'American Soul'

EXCLUSIVE

Gladys Knight was right … Kelly Rowland IS the perfect person to play the legendary singer, and TMZ got the video and photos to prove it.

We’ve obtained the first images of Kelly playing Gladys in the new BET series, “American Soul” … which chronicles the rise of “Soul Train” creator and iconic host, Don Cornelius. If you didn’t know … Gladys was one of the first singers booked on the hit show.

As you can see from this scene filmed last week in Atlanta … the resemblance is uncanny — Kelly’s in 2 outfits for the scene she shot with Sinqua Walls, who’s playing Don. The video’s great too … Kelly’s on the piano with all eyes fixed on her as she delivers a soulful and breathtaking rendition of “Midnight Train to Georgia.”