Why #Madonna's #Prince Tribute Never Stood a Chance

How do you pay proper homage in seven to 10 minutes to a prolific artist who fit in no one box, had a style all his own, who churned out music for almost 40 years and had a larger-than-life presence onstage?

Well, most likely you don't, because no one's been able to do it yet.

Obviously, no one had any issues in the disconsolate days immediately following Prince's death with Coachella being awash in purple light, every artist from Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen to Little Big Town covering Prince in concert, or radio stations playing selections from his vast catalogue 24/7.

The vibe was the more the merrier, albeit with little actual merriment because of all the sadness.


But last night, the first spotlighted, super-hyped awards show tribute dedicated to the inimitable artist was met with almost nothing but eye-rolls from the Internet.

Even BET, host of the next awards show that's going to attempt to climb that same mountain, joined the chorus of virtual boos, ensuring that its tribute is going to give the fans what they need.

But maybe first we all accept the fact that there's no way that a dedicated Prince tribute is going to satisfy everybody.

So far it's only been the unexpected moments, such as Chris Stapleton gutting his audience with a cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" last month or D'Angelo and "Princess" (aka Maya Rudolph) doing "Sometimes It Snows in April" on The Tonight Show, that have won rave reviews.

It's not that Madonna, who is the definition of Prince's contemporary, was saddled with the wrong song, sang it flatly or gave a low-energy performance (all offenses she has been accused of) at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. In case those tweeting from home failed to notice, the live audience was happily lost in the moment, the likes of Rihanna singing adoringly along.

Then when Stevie Wonder walked out for "Purple Rain," forget about it. (A must-quote from the Los Angeles Times' Mikael Wood today: "Wonder on autopilot equals basically every other artist in total concentration.")

But though it seemed like a powerful moment in real time, Madonna's performance has been widely panned.

The biggest complaint (other than the lament that Madonna was there in the first place) is that the song choice was wrong. ALL WRONG! Prince was a high-energy performer, he has countless hits that he made famous, where were Sheila E. and members of his band, etc.



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