Watch Madonna's Moving Tribute to Prince at the Billboard Music Awards
The original video of Madonna's "Let's Go Crazy" performance in this post has been removed from YouTube.
For the grand finale of the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, Madonna paid tribute to Prince with a moving rendition of "Nothing Compares 2 U," followed by a "Purple Rain" duet with Stevie Wonder. Before Madonna came onstage, Questlove gave a short introduction about the importance of Prince and asked the audience for a moment of silence. They obliged, but by the time the "dearly beloved" intro of "Let's Go Crazy" started playing and the arena lights turned purple, everyone was on their feet. Madonna entered via swiveling purple throne and also wore a metallic purple suit in tribute to the Purple One.
At the end of the performance, Madonna and Stevie thanked each other for singing, then Madonna closed by saying, "Most of all, thank you, Prince Rogers Nelson, for all that you have given us." Prince died last month at the age of 57. Investigators have not yet revealed the cause of his death.
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