coltrane3 said:

I'm impressed that she's actually singing - and not horribly. Not great by any means, but not horribly.

This is fairly tasteful, if predictable (the choice of song, the purple jumpsuit (which I like), the purple effects, the photo montage).

I have a feeling she's gonna get crucified in some circles but ths is fine. Adding Stevie was great.

[Edited 5/22/16 20:00pm]

U R being FAR to kind.

DoItAllNight4U said:

and she's being NICE with that reaction...

rgsince81 said:

NO BODY CAN EVER SING ANY OF PRINCES SONGS SUNG BY PRINCE, NO BODY! PERIOD, PLEASE DONT TRY IT WILL NEVER WORK , EVER, AND YES I KNOW IM IN ALL CAPS

I unno...check out Natalya's cover of Free Urself. It maynot b everyones cup-o-tea. I sounds very different than the original. IMO, its quite beautiful.

The only problem is that the vocal is a good performance, but it seems to have been recorded poorly.

bigtimefan said:

ChanGirl said:

Questlove was the only one who I believed loved Prince. The cemetary montage behind HasBeen during the "tribute" was so hurtful. Really ?? .... I'll never watch these award shows again.

I agree. What was up with the old cemetary pics and large word DEATH mixed in???? There are a million photos that could have been used.

Madonna wanted a "dead" scene so she'd be the one noticed and stopped while Prince photos were up.

If I wasn't a fan and was just judging by the photos I wouldn't think he'd done anything since the 90's.

I'm pissed. I wasted 3 hours watching people lipsink who have no talent except sex appeal. Prince was right. There aren't many "artists" left. This just compounded my grief for me.

If I were doing another P tribute show I would certainly be checking this site.

Was I the only one who half expected Prince sitting in the throne chair when it turned around??? I would have prefered Madonna not sitting in it, but standing next to it and instead of singing right away simply saying something to effect that there is NO ONE who could fill his place or be worthy to sing his music, but that she loved and respected him, how he paved the way, etc. Perhaps then she could have gotten off a little easier.

avajane said:

FunkiestOne said:

"Yeah we saw that. Don't worry. We Got You."

.

Yes pure genius and definitely makes me want to watch. As Dave Chapelle said, Prince's death is the "black 9/11", so you know it's going to be a good tribute if they have anyone with a brain and some talent producing it.

I didn't find BET's "response" funny at all and thought it was inappropriate. I recall the tribute they did for Prince back in 2010, and people were criticizing it, and keep in mind Prince chose the artists to honor him. So BET will make the tribute half an hour long with more guests, that still doesn't mean it will be better. Sometimes the best tributes are short ones.

try some miracle Grow on your sense of humor...

the BB tribute was downright BOTCHED. its completely appropriate for BET to let peeps know to expect something better. Theyre allowed to let people know their star wont be disrespected with a lackluster production wrapped around a poor performance.

I understand that this was her tribute, but those gothic images had no meaning to me in relation to Prince. I didn't understand why they were being displayed. Also, Madonna sitting in a purple chair. Really? SMH. Does Madonna think she holds the throne now? I don't think so. Plus, her performance confirmed and solidifed that she does not. Sorry Madonna, but thanks for your tribute. Bye Felicia. Next.

luv4u said:

Posted on Facebook by John Blackwell:

John Blackwell

1 hr ·

Prince tribute last night at billboard awards

REALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like Jerome Benton said in the Movie Purple Rain

..." I did'nt like it and Morris Doesn't like it either"

Awesome!

donnyenglish said:

Two issues: 1. He hated the Sinead O'Connor version and she did it anyway. 2. He no longer believed in crosses and she wore crosses as part as her outfit. I question how much she "knew" Prince given that she did those two things. Perhaps she knew him once before, but anyone that is close to him would no not to do either of those two things. I think bashing her performance because of her talent is unfair. She is who she is and we knew she was not going to be Esperanza Spalding up there. She did her best. But, she should have done her research.

well maybe SHE believes in crosses and has her own relationship with her creator. Surely she's not obliged to abandon those beliefs becuz of that "stauros" mess. An another surely coming...surely Prince didn't require people going into paisley park or people who were going to be around him to remove that Cross Pendants from their gold chains?

Bashing her performance is unfair...but dangit...she need to take off her cross cuz P liked the Stauros thing? really?

The things people will read(or misread) into the circumstances of a performance astound me. I guess u gotta chalk it up to immagination.

SoulAlive said:

From Andre Cymone on Facebook:

Andre Cymone 48 mins · First of all I love Madonna... Her, Prince, Michael Jackson, Sade, David Sylvian and myself, all were born in the same year, I think that was a very good year... That being said I think the industry's response to THE PEOPLE, and THE FANS wanting to see maybe some musicians and artists who either worked directly with Prince and or who he may have inspired would have been appropriate.... They should listen to the people, the people have a lot to do with why artists do what they do. This hard line attitude is what's wrong with the music business and it's why the industry crumbled and people don't want to pay for the music they're puttin out there anymore. They use the same 3 or 4 artists and "The Disney artist Crew" for everything, that's pathetic. They got it fixed so artists can't make any money unless they play the game and If they don't play the game they get to watch everybody get paid but the artist. It's "How to ruin a great business 101"....silly. People, you need to stand up, If you want to support artists then get their music directly from them otherwise you're just lining the pockets of those business people making those bad business decision as opposed to creative artistic ones... Music is suffering and things need to change before it's too late. Fans and artists CAN exist outside of their bubble, that's a fact and in the end it most certainly will be their loss...but It is sad and correct me if I'm wrong, and all due respect to Madonna but I think Prince refused to perform or do interviews unless the line up of artists or journalists were gender balanced and color balanced... Next time Reach out... There are some serious musicians and artists out here making powerful music, trust me.... It would have made his tribute the talk of the industry, in a good way.... If they or whoever, actually stopped and maybe got a little creative and instead of doing business as usual, thought about who Prince really was and what he stood for, they may have come up with some really cool options including Madonna. I knew who Prince was and I think I might know a little about what HE may have wanted to see in a tribute.... Just sayin... I don't care about myself, it ain't about me, I've been working outside the system for years. It's about someone I knew very well and loved to death and I would have loved to see them get this right. I know they think they're all powerful and omnipotent and think they have all the answers because it's their game and they have money but the art of music and those who are truly gifted are bigger than money and their platform. It's just unfortunate that their platform is the window to a world, I just think it would be sad to see my friends tribute and memory keep getting misrepresented so it just comes and goes like so many of those other tributes. I think he deserves something as special as he was. He gave his all to his fans and he raised the bar high, it's unfortunate that the industry has no clue how to raise the bar, they've done a fabulous job lowering it. No disrespect to Madonna, I'm a big fan, I think she's a great artist and a great choice but there should have been more....

BobGeorge909 said:

avajane said:

BobGeorge909 said:

try some miracle Grow on your sense of humor...

the BB tribute was downright BOTCHED. its completely appropriate for BET to let peeps know to expect something better. Theyre allowed to let people know their star wont be disrespected with a lackluster production wrapped around a poor performance.

I have a great sense of humor so I don't need to grow on it, but that shade was tacky as fuck.

what made their comment tacky?

BobGeorge909 said:

avajane said:

BobGeorge909 said:

what made their comment tacky?

I'm not going to waste my energy on something negative like arguing over this. My opinion is my opinion and yours is yours, let's mutually respect our opinions and agree to disagree. Peace and love to you.

sounds good.

bigtimefan said:

rainbowchild said:

bigtimefan said:

From Andre Cymone on Facebook:

Andre Cymone 48 mins · First of all I love Madonna... Her, Prince, Michael Jackson, Sade, David Sylvian and myself, all were born in the same year, I think that was a very good year... That being said I think the industry's response to THE PEOPLE, and THE FANS wanting to see maybe some musicians and artists who either worked directly with Prince and or who he may have inspired would have been appropriate.... They should listen to the people, the people have a lot to do with why artists do what they do. This hard line attitude is what's wrong with the music business and it's why the industry crumbled and people don't want to pay for the music they're puttin out there anymore. They use the same 3 or 4 artists and "The Disney artist Crew" for everything, that's pathetic. They got it fixed so artists can't make any money unless they play the game and If they don't play the game they get to watch everybody get paid but the artist. It's "How to ruin a great business 101"....silly. People, you need to stand up, If you want to support artists then get their music directly from them otherwise you're just lining the pockets of those business people making those bad business decision as opposed to creative artistic ones... Music is suffering and things need to change before it's too late. Fans and artists CAN exist outside of their bubble, that's a fact and in the end it most certainly will be their loss...but It is sad and correct me if I'm wrong, and all due respect to Madonna but I think Prince refused to perform or do interviews unless the line up of artists or journalists were gender balanced and color balanced... Next time Reach out... There are some serious musicians and artists out here making powerful music, trust me.... It would have made his tribute the talk of the industry, in a good way.... If they or whoever, actually stopped and maybe got a little creative and instead of doing business as usual, thought about who Prince really was and what he stood for, they may have come up with some really cool options including Madonna. I knew who Prince was and I think I might know a little about what HE may have wanted to see in a tribute.... Just sayin... I don't care about myself, it ain't about me, I've been working outside the system for years. It's about someone I knew very well and loved to death and I would have loved to see them get this right. I know they think they're all powerful and omnipotent and think they have all the answers because it's their game and they have money but the art of music and those who are truly gifted are bigger than money and their platform. It's just unfortunate that their platform is the window to a world, I just think it would be sad to see my friends tribute and memory keep getting misrepresented so it just comes and goes like so many of those other tributes. I think he deserves something as special as he was. He gave his all to his fans and he raised the bar high, it's unfortunate that the industry has no clue how to raise the bar, they've done a fabulous job lowering it. No disrespect to Madonna, I'm a big fan, I think she's a great artist and a great choice but there should have been more....

Well said. Definitely a missed opportunity for the Billboard Awards to give Prince a proper tribute. I was expecting more as well.

setyrmindphree said:

[img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://i1248.ph.../img:$uid] [Edited 5/22/16 21:31pm]

My thoughts exactly!

beautifulone7 said:

HarleyQ said:

Yup. All awards shows are shit shows! Ive worked them in the past. Mostly politics. Mostly whitewashed. Mostly all greed and money and not about the music to fans. A shit show. Rem lyrics in DMSR....




I don't wanna be a poet
'Cuz I don't wanna blow it
I don't care 2 win awards
All I wanna do is dance
Play music sex romance
And try my best 2 never get bored

But it sucks it was the first official industry tribute and will be forever remembered as that. Billboard has already begun the spin, calling it "classic"

Billboard is so full of crap its not even funny!

FUNKNROLL said:

Forget Madonna. What was up with the long reel of cemetery photos and "DEATH" in the background?!? who let something like that happen?! Is that normal for these tributes?! They surely could have found more photos of Prince. For me, that was the shocking unforgivable part.

WOW, they actually did that!? SO disrespectful and tacky!

lastdecember said:

My only issue with this tribute was the Montage behind Madonna, the pics were amazing, but the cemetary stuff really was not cool in my eyes. We know the man has died, but that was morbid and also felt very much like the "COME" album photos, but Prince was not even buried nor using religious symbols again, too much. As for the performance I cant fault the 3 for doing it, Quest was/is a big fan and friend, Stevie was Prince's influence and always spoke of him, he loved that man probably more than any other influence. And Madonna, again she will get the hate, but honestly I would rather Madonna do it than Beyonce. I have a strange feeling that Beyonce is going to be doing something for him at the Grammy show, I know its eons away but you know how they do things.

Although I know this tribute sucked, I rather Madonna do it too because I know despite her antics she respected and admired Prince and she was also a peer of his. I really hope Beyonce doesnt do a Prince tribute. I rather see artists like Janelle, D Angelo, Esparaza etc do a tribute because they were actually inspired by Prince. Whenever Beyonce does a tribute it comes across as self serving and not sincere.

dalboy2 said:

http://www.ew.com/article...ce-tribute Questlove defends Madonna's Prince tribute Not everyone was pleased with Madonna’s tribute to Prince during Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards. Shortly after the performance, which paired Madonna and Stevie Wonder and was introduced by Questlove, the official Twitter account for the BET Awards posted a promo video mocking the BBMAs showcase. “Yeah, we saw that,” read a chyron at the bottom of the teaser for the BET Awards’ own Prince tribute, which is set to happen next month. “Don’t worry. We got you.” #BETAwards #PrinceTribute pic.twitter.com/VpnjybXia2 — #BETAwards (@BETAwards) May 23, 2016 Writing on Twitter in the hour after the BET Awards tweet, Questlove defended the Madonna tribute to Prince – though without citing the BET Awards promo as an impetus for his comments. “Because of [Prince’s] well known love for the *poof* vanishing act. A lot of us are left feeling incomplete in the act of saying goodbye,” the Roots’ drummer wrote. “For starters it’s hard to accept him no longer being here. [And] in the upcoming award season for ‘17 there will be a gang of tributes. Naturally there will be folded arms & shade thrown because the Purple Standard is hard boots to fill & a lot of us don’t wanna come [to] grips [with] the fact that Prince – (an on the surface) face of health & invincible agelessness – [succumbed] to something so… friggin basic.” Questlove added that fans mourning Prince are doing so in stages, and anger is winning out at the moment. “So I know there is gonna be A LOT of ‘feel a certain ways’ about who you want to see do his music justice – but you gotta put that aside y’all,” he wrote. “Every Prince rendition will not be a life changing orgasmic [experience]. Just to SING his work is brave enough. Again feeling are on high, and EVERYBODY wants and deserves a chance to say goodbye in their own way. But remember: there will be AMAs, SoulTrain, NAACP, mtv, GRAMMYS, and a gazillion other tributes. But the point is let’s not get ugly with playing the ‘Prince would and wouldn’t approve’ game.” RELATED: Prince: His Life in Pictures In a later tweet, Questlove wrote that the comments were not “just about” Madonna and Wonder, but a larger conversation about who should control Prince’s legacy. When a Twitter user said to him that the problem was people expected more from the Billboard Music Awards than Madonna, Questlove wrote, “Not knocking [BBMAs], but that ain’t no Grammys now.” Read his full commentary below. because of P’s well known love for the *poof* vanishing act. A lot of us are left feeling incomplete in the act of saying goodbye. — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 For starters it’s hard to accept him no longer being here. & in the upcoming award season for ‘17 there will be a gang of tributes — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 Naturally there will be folded arms & shade thrown because the Purple Standard is hard boots to fill & a lot of us don’t wanna come 2 grips — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 —w the fact that Prince–(an on the surface) face of health & invincible agelessness subcomb to something so….friggin basic — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 So w mourning will come sadness & anger. 1st week I cried. 2nd week I tried to atone for his sins w gettin 8-10 hrs of sleep he didn’t get — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 Now anger is in the air w who (in our eyes) is allowed to mourn & how they are allowed to mourn.—none of us were prepared for his death — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 So I know there is gonna be ALOT of “feel a certain ways” about who you want to see do his music justice—but you gotta put that aside yall — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 Every Prince rendition will not be a life changing orgasmic xperience. Just to SING his work is brave enough. Again feeling are on high — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 And EVERYBODY wants and deserves a chance to say goodbye in their own way. But remember: there will be AMAs, SoulTrain, NAACP, mtv, GRAMMYS — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 And a gazillion other tributes. But the point is let’s not get ugly w playing the “Prince would and wouldn’t approve” game. — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 ….& this isn’t *just about* the Madge/Stevie tribute btw — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 I’ve been gettin earfuls from in/outside the Purple Circle concerning inclu/exclusions of his estate/work/memorials/tributes who in who not. — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016 Not knocking BB, but that ain’t no Grammys now. https://t.co/do54vOio6i — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016

Quest love is so full of bullish!!! Seriously, I really stopped taking him seriously years ago! He is such a troll

Jeez, just saw the 'tribute' on youtube as it did not air in Ireland. Firstly I think Billboard did a stinking job of honouring PRINCE, shameful and shame omn them

Madonna was genuine in her approach but her vocal range is razor thin, saw her in Dublin few years back and was blown away... for all the wrong reasons...

In my honest opinion, there is only one person who can do a tribute that is meaningful : enter Shelby J - awesome vocal range and Prince ADORED her. I saw prince in concert 22 times and 8 of those with Shelby. He would light up when she hit the mic... Q the grammys ...lets get it right.

......With an accurate undestanding of Prince and his law he went about the work of building a new nation, the rainbow children .....

End of day Stevie Wonder and Madonna are not even in the same ballpark as Prince. Any of these other tributes nope.

„Among the few justifications for Madonna being chosen to pay tribute to Prince at the Billboard Music Awards was that both artists were part of the ’80s triumvirate of pop-transforming superstars (along with Michael Jackson)“

.

Let’s assume for a moment that Madonna had died instead. Would they have asked Prince to pay tribute to her?

.

Certainly not. And if they had, Prince would have probably refused, at least to do it that way („Me? Sitting on a throne to show the world that I am king now, just because I survived them all?“).

.

Anyone sitting on that purple throne feels like dancing on his grave (even if there isn’t a grave … but that’s just another sad story of these days).

.

What on earth has this man done to deserve this never ending line of sad stories?

suomynona said:

If you want to know about how the music business feels about Prince: They open the BBMA with ten freaking minutes of Britney Spears.

Highlarious.

.

[Edited 5/22/16 17:25pm]

Well for the Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Taylor Swift fans out there Britney Spears is "old school".