LOS ANGELES - The BET Awards — or “The Prince Tribute Show” — featured emotional and energetic performances from Sheila E., Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson honoring the Purple One, along with political statements on issues ranging from racial injustice to the US presidential election.
Sheila E., jamming on the drums and guitar, singing and dancing without shoes, closed the three-hour-plus show at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with “Let’s Work,” “A Love Bizarre,” “The Glamorous Life,” “America” and more. She was joined by “Purple Rain” actor Jerome Benton and Prince’s ex-wife, Mayte Garcia, who danced alongside the background dancers throughout the set. They ended by raising a purple guitar in the air as the audience cheered them on.
Hudson, rocking a white-hooded blazer, and Wonder, clad in a purple suit, sang “Purple Rain” — a month after the piano-playing icon performed the song with Madonna at the Billboard Music Awards, which BET dissed on Twitter. This time, Hudson was a vocal powerhouse, delivering screeching vocals while Wonder played piano and Tori Kelly was on guitar while a photo montage of Prince appeared on the purple-lit stage.
Though the BET Awards were heavy on honoring the icon who died on April 21, the show went from Prince to political throughout the night.
“Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jesse Williams, who earned the humanitarian award for his efforts as an activist, gave a fiery, nearly six-minute speech that brought the audience to its feet and earned a rousing applause.
“We’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil, black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them; gentrifying our genius and trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies,” he said onstage.
Williams was introduced by BET CEO Debra Lee, who spoke about gun violence and brought up the recent Orlando shooting at the Pulse nightclub.
“We all need to take stance against gun violence. You can make a difference,” Lee said onstage. “Use your voice and vote.”
When “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson won best actress, she encouraged the audience to vote against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“I’m really not political but it’s serious out here, and for those who thing that, you know, ‘Oh he’s not going to win’ — think again. So we really need to pull together and turn this country around,” she said.
The BET Awards wasn’t all serious, though. Beyonce kicked off the show with a surprise performance featuring Kendrick Lamar and multiple background dancers of her song “Freedom,” dancing in a pool of water to the song’s heavy beat. At one point, Lamar and Beyoncé kicked the water and danced in sync, drawing a heavy applause from the audience.
Beyonce won video of the year and the fan-voted viewers’ choice award for her hit, “Formation.”
Alicia Keys slowed things down with a performance of “In Common“; Fat Joe, Remy Ma and French Montana were energetic during “All the Way Up“; and Desiigner was excited as he rapped “Panda” onstage and in the middle of the aisles, as most of the audience nodded and sang along.
Rising newcomer Bryson Tiller also performed. In a surprise win, the singer won best male R&B/pop artist, besting Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Tyrese and Jeremih. Tiller also won best new artist.
Drake, who didn’t attend the show though he was the top contender with nine nominations, won best male hip hop artist and best group with rapper-singer-producer Future.
Samuel L. Jackson received the lifetime achievement award and was introduced by Spike Lee.
Prince wasn’t the only icon honored Monday — Muhammad Ali was remembered by his daughter and Jamie Foxx.
“To me and my eight sisters and brothers, he was just dad,” Laila Ali said onstage. “My father also once said, ‘If people loved each other as much as they loved me, it would be a better world.’” - AP
