One word: ratings. Only Prince fans would tune in to see one of his bands, though they could function as a house-band (and who gets final say in that? Remember, the Revolution hasn't been his band for three decades, 3rdEyeGirl could get the invite). These awards shows are going to welcome big stars who are associated with Prince, big stars who Prince influenced, and big stars who are entirely unrelated but nice to have there so the sponsors can hock whatever they're hocking. That said, the ideal situation is to have an R&B legend (ie. Stevie Wonder or Chaka Khan), a contemporary (ie. Springsteen or Madonna), a shredder (ie. Lenny Kravitz or Carlos Santana), musicians who worked with Prince, and a smattering of superstars who worshipped Prince (so, yes, Beyonce, because people will tune in for that; she's one of the biggest acts in the world right now and her making tributes to Prince while riding the wave of critical acclaim for Lemonade is probably bringing Prince's music to a new fanbase). There are probably a whole bunch of these coming and a lot of artists from whom to pick and choose. But Morris Day, Sheila E. and the Revolution alone? We would tune in for that, but would America's teenage, product-purchasing population? In any event the whole thing will be so manufactured I would only watch if someone of Stevie's caliber were involved.

Also, not another rendition of "Purple Rain." Those lyrics were meant for Prince to sing and it's getting tired. A Prince-associated supergroup would be nice, but I doubt we could agree on a lineup so who knows what the producers would put together.

mtlfan said:

Yeah, Prince jammed with Beyonce. I imagine her listening to "P Control" and taking notes. I changed my mind though: this tribute should obviously involve Gene Simmons, Sinead O'Connor and Justin Bieber.

GirlBrother said:

Madonna is the only logical choice really. And anything has got to be better than Gaga's Angie Bowie tribute.

When you think about it, the whole thing is so morbid and tasteless. Yes, Bowie influenced Gaga, but she was also recruited because she's one of the "biggest" acts they could find, certainly a sexier sell than Brian Eno. So a Prince tribute is partially just that - a tribute - and partially a spectacle to orient commercials around, and the producers will be mindful of that when selecting artists that appeal to a crossover demographic so they can sell cars and shampoo.

mtlfan said:

FormerlyKnownAs said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Really? How about Tina Turner (did cover of "Let's Pretend We're Married"), Lionel Ritchie, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper (did cover of "When You Were Mine"), Chaka Khan ("I Feel For You"), Patti LaBelle, Springstein (he just did a P song in concert as a tribute), D'Angelo (wow - that "Sometimes It Snows in April" he just did was perfect!), even Beyonce doing "The Beautiful Ones" that recently won rave reviews; and a reunion of sorts with all Revolution, NPG, and 3rdEyeGirl players would be nice...

You had me in the palm of your hand until...right there!

GirlBrother said:

rainbowchild said:

GirlBrother said:

Madonna was one of the 80s holy trinity, of she, Prince and Michael Jackson.

If they wanted more crossover appeal, they'd have picked a younger more currently popular act.

You know, they could have chosen to have Adele wailing Nothing Compares 2 U (which would be right up her alley).

Oooooohhh Adele!!!


Indeed, all 3-- Madonna, Prince and MJ were all born in 1958. Never thought Madonna would outlive them both.

mtlfan said:

kitbradley said:

A Billboard Awards tribute to Prince featuring a bunch of tween artists who barely know who he is, probably given some lyrics to learn a day or two prior to the show for the songs "Purple Rain", "Little Red Corvette" and "When Doves Cry" so they can come out on stage an butcher them into little pieces? I think I'll pass. If there will be a tribute, they need to leave it to Prince's contemporaries. Not who's hot on the charts right now.

I guess...maybe Miguel, Chris Brown..Robin Thicke, Lenny K.

There will definitely be plenty tributes to Prince at the BB awards. I know Madonna is doing one, and I'm sure plenty of others are too.

Mkilpatrick74 said:

rainbowchild said:

Oooooohhh Adele!!!


Indeed, all 3-- Madonna, Prince and MJ were all born in 195i8. Never thought Madonna would outlive them both.

RachB65 said:

rainbowchild said:

RachB65 said:

Why not? Women live longer than men..and she obviously has lived a clean life for a very long time, since before she was famous even..Too bad she is the least talented of the "Trinity"

I was hoping to see all 3 of them to live a long life and not see MJ and Prince die tragically in their 50s.

Same here.

Everyone loves spectacular disasters. Titanic. The Impossible. Twister. Graffiti Bridge.

.

Set those DVRs for an epic disaster -- the Billboard Awards on May 22.

Madonna? really...

suomynona said:

Everyone loves spectacular disasters. Titanic. The Impossible. Twister. Graffiti Bridge.

.

Set those DVRs for an epic disaster -- the Billboard Awards on May 22.

GirlBrother said:

mtlfan said:

So a Prince tribute is partially just that - a tribute - and partially a spectacle to orient commercials around, and the producers will be mindful of that when selecting artists that appeal to a crossover demographic so they can sell cars and shampoo.

Madonna was one of the 80s holy trinity, of she, Prince and Michael Jackson. If they wanted more crossover appeal, they'd have picked a younger more currently popular act. You know, they could have chosen to have Adele wailing Nothing Compares 2 U (which would be right up her alley).

I can live with Madonna considering she collaborated with Prince and respects him as an artist and is now an elder stateswoman in pop, though I think Prince would prefer Stevie's involvement (maybe they'll wheel him out from behind a curtain like they did when he played "Wild Wild West" with Will Smith). Mads just has a way of making everything about her, so we'll see. And at least the whole affair will be a five minute respite from hearing "Skyfall."

Here: http://prince.org/msg/7/425528

MendesCity said:

GirlBrother said:

mtlfan said:

So a Prince tribute is partially just that - a tribute - and partially a spectacle to orient commercials around, and the producers will be mindful of that when selecting artists that appeal to a crossover demographic so they can sell cars and shampoo.

Madonna was one of the 80s holy trinity, of she, Prince and Michael Jackson.

You forgot Springsteen. He was in there too. Those were the big four, although I guess could argue he was more rock and the others were more "pop" but we know Prince should not be confined to any one genre.