The Grammys Salute to Prince special: John Legend, Sheila E., Usher and H.E.R. bring down the house

Exactly four years after the iconic artist Prince passed away, some of music’s biggest names honored the legend at Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammys Salute to Prince.

The special, filmed in January and hosted by Maya Rudolph, featured, ‘some of Prince’s closest friends and collaborators.’

Among the many performers in the star-studded lineup were John Legend, Usher, H.E.R. and Prince’s collaborator Sheila E., who served as one of the musical director’s for the special along with music producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. 

The host for the star-studded event, Maya Rudolph, takes the stage to welcome the ‘dearly beloved’ fans.

‘I have difficulty putting into words my personal feelings for Prince,’ Rudolph said. She added that words like genius and prolific aren’t ‘quite there.’

‘And when it comes to performing, I’m sorry, but he still has everyone beat,’ she added. ‘To love Prince, is to love music.’

She added that even early in his career, he was at the forefront of hot-button issues, adding, ‘He said so much, so well, for so long.’

She first introduced H.E.R. and Gary Clark Jr., who sang a rousing rendition of Prince’s iconic classic Let’s Go Crazy.

H.E.R. was rocking a stylish white pant suit and black sunglasses while Gary Clark Jr. donned a tie-less grey suit while singing on stage.

Their rousing guitar solos both brought the crowd to their feet while performing against the backdrop of his infamous ‘symbol.’

Next up was Miguel, singing I Would Die For You from Prince’s iconic Purple Rain album.

Miguel was also decked out in all white, with a billowing white shirt, white gloves, white pants and white shoes, while Tiffany Haddish was seen reacting to the performance in the crowd.

He completed his performance by doing the splits in the middle of the stage, before stating, ‘We love you Prince.’ 

John Legend was next, saying he ‘set the stage for all of us who follow.’

‘Prince actually kept giving this song away, but somehow, it keeps coming back to him, because nothing compares to Prince,’ Legend said as he broke into Nothing Compares 2 U.

One of the most famous renditions of the song was recorded by Sinead O’Connor in 1990, with others like Chris Cornell also covering the track.

Legend performed the iconic track while wearing a grey suit coat and grey pants but with no shirt under his jacket.

A video package was put together about Prince’s early years, revealing that he signed his first record deal with Warner Bros. Records at just 17 years of age, where he got the one thing he would demand throughout his career: complete creative control.

St. Vincent then took the stage to sing Controversy, paying tribute to ‘The Purple One’ with a light purple ruffled top, purple panties and white knee-high boots while showing off her guitar chops on the track.

Naomi Campbell took to the stage to introduce Latin pop superstar Juanes, who sang Prince’s classic 1999.

H.E.R. returned to the stage, this time behind the piano, singing The Beautiful Ones, while dancer Misty Copeland performed an interpretive dance to the track.

Towards the end of the song, she let the piano and brought the house down with her soulful rendition alongside Copeland. 

Sheila E, who also serves as the show’s musical director, introduced a rendition of Little Red Corvette by Usher, clad in a glittering jacket a white silk shirt and black pants.

That song was the first of a medley, leading into his version of When Doves Cry, and then KISS, accompanied by FKA Twigs, where he hit all of the iconic high notes.

Misty Copeland came back on stage, saying how she was ‘privelged’ to tour around the world with Prince.

‘He was a mentor who showed me what it was like to be a unique individual and to own that power,’ she said.

‘I wasn’t the only beneficiary to his wisdom,’ she said, adding that women were at the ‘front and center’ of his entourage.

She then introduced Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles and Coldplay singer Chris Martin who performed a rendition of Manic Monday a song Prince wrote under the name ‘Christopher ‘that gave way to The Bangles’ rise to fame.

Hoffs and Martin sang a stripped-down version of the song, with only Martin’s piano as accompaniment.

Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis said that when he left Minneapolis and made hits, he came back and gave them all opportunities.

Introduced as ‘perhaps Prince’s greatest creation’ was the legendary Minneapolis group Morris Day & The Time, who took the stage and sang their iconic hit Jungle Love.

The crowd went wild when Day performed the iconic dance that always accompanies the song, before breaking into another hit, Cool.

While Morris rocked a gold jacket under a black shirt and black pants, The Time was all clad in purple suits to pay homage to Prince.

They then broke into The Bird, which H.E.R. was even seen rocking out to in the crowd, as their medley came to an end.

Another video package debuted which explores his early career, revealing that Prince played all 23 instruments on his debut self-titled album.

1984’s Purple Rain earned Prince his first three Grammy’s and his first performance on the Grammy stage, as he continued his dominance throughout the 1980s.

The Foo Fighters then took the stage, with Dave Grohl saying that they recorded Prince’s Darling NIkki, and they didn’t think he liked it too much, but they gave it another shot.

Their version, naturally, was a heavier rock-infused track compared to Prince’s original version on 1984’s Purple Rain, but it still brought the house down. 

Maya Rudolph returned to the stage, stating it’s fitting that so many artists are celebrating him, when he celebrated so many artists.

She then introduced one of Prince’s favorite groups, Earth Wind and Fire, who sang Adore from Sign ‘O’ the Times.

Singer Philip Bailey earned thunderous applause for hitting all of the right notes perfectly.

Common revealed that the last time he met Prince was when he presented him the Golden Globe he and John Legend won for their hit song Glory.

‘He could speak to the times in ways few artsist could do,’ Common said, before introducing Sign of the Times, performed by himself and Shiela E.

Common even added a new freestyle rap verse into the song before closing it out by raising his fist into the air. 

Maya Rudolph returns and says he was the ‘most prolific artist of all time,’ with claims that he wrote at least a song a day.

She then introduced Beck, clad in a tan suit and cravat, playing a white acoustic guitar, performing Prince’s beloved track Raspberry Beret.

Towards the end of the song, he even stopped the band and had the entire auditorium sing in unison in quite the touching and chilling moment.

After a brief clip of Prince’s iconic Super Bowl halftime show performance in 2007 (considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time) Gary Clark Jr. returned to sing The Cross with Sheila E on the drums. 

Fred Armisen took the stage, stating he was in ‘awe’ of all the performers, before introducing the ‘queen of percussion’ and the musical director, Sheila E, who sang America in a bright yellow pantsuit.

That song lead into her iconic single The Glamorous Life, which she sang while playing a small percussion kit on stage.

She showed off her immense percussion skills that brought the crowd to their feet, before ending the song by pointing a lone stick to the heavens in tribute to The Purple One.

During the final segment of the video package, they play Prince’s interview with Larry King where he talked about changing his name.

There were also clips of some of his some of his most iconic performances in the 21st century.

Fred Armisen returned to introduce Princess and The Revolution, Maya Rudolph’s Prince-approved cover band with Gretchen Lieberum, singing Delirious.

One of Prince’s favorite voices, Mavis Staples, came on stage to sing, with Prince’s group The Revolution, Prince’s most cherished song, Purple Rain, which completely brought the house down, particularly for Wendy Melvoin’s guitar solo.

The night came to a close with a star-studded rendition of Baby I’m a Star, with the iconic backdrop of Minneapolis’ First Avenue rising up in the background.