Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monáe, The Roots, Erykah Badu and Sheila E. performed a tribute to Prince at the BET Awards on Sunday (26.06.16).
Erykah kicked off proceedings with ‘The Ballad of Dorothy Parker’, with The Roots as her backing band as they remembered the late star who passed away in April at the age of 57.
Stevie and Tori teamed up for ‘Take Me with U’ while Jennifer wowed with her version of ‘Purple Rain’ while Janelle wowed with ‘Delirious’, ‘Kiss’, ‘Pop Life’ and ‘I Would Die 4 U’.
Prince’s former fiancée and longtime collaborator Sheila E. closed the show with a medley of Prince’s hits including Earthquake,’ ‘Erotic City,’ ‘Let’s Work,’ ‘U Got the Look,’ ‘America the Beautiful,’ and ‘Baby I’m a Star.’ And she sang her own song, ‘The Glamorous Life,’ which was written by Prince.
She told Entertainment Tonight before the show: "It’s about his legacy. Those songs, he left them for us forever. They are forever embedded in all of us, and I think we’re going to have a wonderful time."
Meanwhile, Beyonce was the big winner on the night, picking up gongs for Video of the Year for ‘Formation’, Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice and the Centric Award for ‘Formation’ at the ceremony at the Microsoft Theater.
And not only did Beyonce emerge as a winner in four categories but she also opened the show with Kendrick Lamar, as the pair gave a powerful performance of her song ‘Freedom’.
They kicked off proceedings with Beyonce’s dancers strutting down the aisles of the auditorium while Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech played.
Drake was also a big winner on the night, picking up three gongs, Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Best Group with Future and Best Collaboration for Rihanna’s ‘Work’.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ actor Jesse Williams won the Humanitarian Award and received a standing ovation for his powerful speech.
He said: "Now, what we’ve been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to de-escalate, disarm and not kill white people every day. So what’s going to happen is we’re going to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will restructure their function and ours."
BET Awards Winners 2016
Video of the Year – Beyonce, ‘Formation’
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist – Bryson Tiller
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist – Beyonce
Best Male Hip Hop Artist – Drake
Best Female Hip Hop Artist – Nicki Minaj
Best New Artist – Bryson Tiller
Best Group – Drake and Future
Best Collaboration – Rihanna featuring Drake, ‘Work’
READ: Stars Pay Tribute To Prince At BET Awards
Best Gospel – Kirk Franklin
Youngstars Award – Amandla Stenberg
Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice – Beyonce
Centric Award – Beyonce, ‘Formation’
Video Director of the Year – Director X
Best Actor – Michael B. Jordan
Best Actress – Taraji P. Henson
Best Movie – ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Sportswoman of the Year – Serena Williams
Sportsman of the Year – Stephen Curry
Humanitarian Award – Jesse Williams
Lifetime Achievement – Samuel L. Jackson
Best International Act, U.K. – Skepta
Best International Act, Africa – Wizkid (Nigeria)