The BET Awards marked the late Prince tonight, with tributes from the Roots, Janelle Monáe, Maxwell, Jennifer Hudson, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, Tori Kelly, Bilal, and Prince collaborator Sheila E. Anticipations for the performance were high — especially since Madonna’s interpretation at the Billboard Music Awards garnered mixed reviews and even a Twitter dig from the BET Awards themselves.
While onstage, the Roots, Erykah Badu, and Bilal performed “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” and “The Beautiful Ones.” Stevie Wonder and Tori Kelly played “Take Me With U,” and Jennifer Hudson sang “Purple Rain.” Maxwell also sang a combination of his single “Lake by the Ocean,” and “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and Monáe did a medley of “Delirious,” “Kiss,” “Pop Life,” and “I Would Die 4 U.” Sheila E., who was scheduled to perform her set with an absentee D’Angelo, concluded the evening on her own with a finale medley, featuring songs like “Housequake,” “Erotic City,” and “Let’s Work.”
Watch the Roots, Badu, and Bilal here, watch Maxwell perform here, watch Stevie Wonder, Tori Kelly, and Jennifer Hudson perform here, watch Janelle Monáe’s tribute here, and watch Sheila E.’s performance here.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=C3aiENMIFN8
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oMlYoz9cYWs