President Obama moved many in the nation to tears for what seemed to be an impromptu rendition of the 18th-century hymn Amazing Grace during the eulogy for slain Rev. Clementa Pinckney, killed at the church in Charleston, South Carolina. But according to his senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, that was the plan from the beginning.

In an ABC News report, Jarrett said when the president brought up the idea, she tried to discourage him like she has on other occasions. (Apparently, it has never worked.) However, it was Michelle Obama who had the biggest problem with the addition of the hymn that most would easily consider an entirely appropriate choice for a funeral:

Why on Earth would that fit in?

Jarrett recalls Mrs. Obama saying this as the three of them were aboard Marine One on the way to the funeral from the White House. She further adds that the president was going to make sure the timing seemed right before breaking into song. “From the first time he started to speak, the church was clearly with him,” Jarrett said. “He knew they were with him.”