After all the hullabaloo regarding Billboard’s choice to appoint Madonna to perform a tribute to Prince at the 2016 awards ceremony, viewers tuned in to see if the “Material Girl” would deliver, and well, just read on.
To open the highly-anticipated performance, Questlove gave a heartfelt introduction (which Billboard reports) Madonna asked him to write. Madonna then appeared in a purple, ruffled Prince-esque, ensemble on a purple throne to the opening monologue of his song “Let’s Go Crazy.”
She then descends down the stairs singing another one of Prince’s tunes, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” as solemn cemetery images flash behind her. A few images of Prince displayed during the instrumental break. Snoozefest.
However, Prince fans got their wishes answered (somewhat) when Stevie Wonder joined Madonna on stage. If you recall, one of the requests of the Change.org petition was that Madonna wasn’t the only artist to honor the late musician.
And, well, just watch and judge for yourself:
The reactions are mixed. Some liked it! Comedian Margaret Cho tweeted:
Crying. Great tribute. @Madonna and #StevieWonder are beautiful. #Prince
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) May 23, 2016
And many disliked it with a passion. Twitter user @ReignOfApril tweeted the following hilarious reaction GIFs:
Saint Peter: Did you enjoy that Madonna tribute to you on @billboard @BBMAs? #BBMAs
Prince: pic.twitter.com/3HavgkHvXo
— ☔️ April ☔️ (@ReignOfApril) May 23, 2016
Prince listening to that @billboard @BBMAs “tribute” by Madonna. #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/4a9N2KYAJt
— ☔️ April ☔️ (@ReignOfApril) May 23, 2016
Prince: Whitney girl they got Madonna giving me a “tribute” tonight pic.twitter.com/LZyWOxFFUA
— him.✨ (@gvess_) May 23, 2016
Maybe @billboard @BBMAs thought if the tribute was horrible enough, Prince would come back like… 😒🙄 #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/tbwphrSobP
— ☔️ April ☔️ (@ReignOfApril) May 23, 2016
The BET Network even got in on the shade, tweeting this below:
#BETAwards #PrinceTribute pic.twitter.com/VTNYE0POvD
— BET (@BET) May 23, 2016
LOL! And to remind you how BET puts tributes together, peep this flashback of when they honored Prince with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
Should be interesting to see what BET has planned!
