The June 26 BET Awards will pay tribute to Prince with an all-star lineup that includes The Roots, D’Angelo, Janelle Monae and the Purple One’s former drummer/lover, Sheila E. In a tweet announcing the special nod to the legendary singer who died on April 21 at age 57, the channel also promised that more acts will be announced at a later date.
@SheilaEdrummer, @JanelleMonae, @theroots and @TheDangelo are only a few … #BETAwards #CelebratePrince #PrinceDay pic.twitter.com/J90SI14imS
— BET (@BET) June 7, 2016
Prince, who received a lifetime achievement award from the network in 2010, has been honored by a string of artists over the past month, from Bruce Springsteen to Haim, Paul McCartney, Beck, Beyoncé and Mumford & Sons. The BET honor comes just weeks after the network sent out a tweet taunting Madonna for her homage to Prince at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, in which they promised the late singer “Don’t worry. We got you.”
Madonna & Stevie Wonder Pay Tribute to Prince at 2016 Billboard Music Awards
Tonight Show house band member and Roots drummer Questlove helped produce the Billboard tribute to Prince and defended Madonna’s performance, tweeting “just to sing his work is brave enough.” The 2016 BET Awards will also feature performances from Maxwell and Alicia Keys.
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