The Hawaii-born singer, the 'Chocolate' hitmaker and the former Disney star bring Grammys back to the '80s by performing songs in honor of the music legends.
- Feb 13, 2017
AceShowbiz - Bruno Mars and The Time paid homage to Prince at the 2017 Grammy Awards by singing the legendary singer's songs. The Time performed first by singing "Jungle Love" and "The Bird" before passing the baton to Mars who sang "Let's Go Crazy".
The Time was the most relevant artist to perform a tribute to Prince since the late singer wrote and produced The Time's early albums. The Time kicked off their performance by singing Prince-produced track from their "Ice Cream Castle" album, "Jungle Love". They showed perfect distillation of Prince's funk including "screaming guitars, popping bass and stabbing synthesizer." The group's lead singer Morris Day later shouted, "You have about 10 seconds to get up off of your asses," before performing the second song "The Bird" perfectly.
After The Time's performance, the stage turned dark and Prince's voice could be heard giving an intro talk to "Let's Go Crazy". It turned out that Mars was the one who sang the song. The "24K Magic" hitmaker donned purple-sparkly suit with a huge white bow tie. He sang while playing a guitar and even channeled Prince by performing a simple but catchy choreography with guitar on his hand.
Mars' tribute performance was so perfect and even praised by critic Daniel Fienberg. "Bruno Mars was of course, concocted in a laboratory for kickass retro #GRAMMYs tributes. It's what he's here for," Fienberg wrote on Twitter.
Bruno Mars was of course, concocted in a laboratory for kickass retro #GRAMMYs tributes. It’s what he’s here for.
— Daniel Fienberg (@TheFienPrint) 13 Februari 2017
During the award-giving ceremony, Mars also performed his own song, "That's What I Like" from his newest album "24K Magic". Mars continued to show off his mastery of funk and '80s R&B by performing with two back-up singers. They sang and danced in sync in tracksuits, delivering a "flirtatious" performance for the crowd.
Prince was not the only artist to receive tribute at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Legendary band Bee Gees also received one from Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, Andra Day and Little Big Town in honor of the 40th anniversary of the group's monumental "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack.
Lovato started the tribute performance by singing "Stayin Alive". The former Disney star channeled her inner disco diva as she performed in a bronze-glittery jumpsuit that flaunted her cleavage. She looked effortlessly pretty as she let her long black hair down. Lovato belted the high notes perfectly, before Kelly with her guitar joined her to sing "Tragedy".
The two beauties were later followed by Little Big Town. The country group sang "How Deep Is Your Love" sweetly, creating perfect harmony and making Bee Gees' Barry Gibb sing along in the crowd. After that, Day took over the stage to sing "Night Fever" before joining Lovato, Kelly and Little Big Town to end their set by performing the final verse of "Stayin Alive".