The tribute at the 2018 BET Awards spread across seven performances from the likes of Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Stevie Wonder, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Hudson (whose "Purple Rain" was equally stunning), Janelle Monae and Sheila E.; only the absence of D'Angelo, who was scheduled to perform but was a no-show, put a damper on the evening. For Bilal, who signed on immediately after Questlove of the Roots called him and asked him to be part of the tribute -- and who has performed Prince tributes before, most recently at Carnegie Hall in 2013 in a show that D'Angelo did show up for -- it was a special moment.
With just a day to prepare, that familiarity was needed, particularly as Prince's iconic performance of the song in Purple Rain is arguably the emotional turning point of the film, with the slow-building climax leaving Prince flat on his back, energy spent, as Apollonia leaves the club in tears. As the Roots' guitarist Captain Kirk Douglas electrified the band with a pulsing guitar solo, Bilal channeled that Prince performance, crawling across the stage while letting his falsetto fill the room, rolling around on his back and, ultimately, recalling that famous scene by lying on his back as the song came to an end. It was sensational, to say the least.
"When I made the decision to do it, I decided I was gonna go all out from the jump," he says, noting that the film's scene was "absolutely" on his mind. "At first it was kind of nerve-wracking, because at the soundcheck I was really messing up. I didn't know where I was going to walk and it was kind of hectic. So at first I was a little, I wouldn't say nervous, but anxious. Right before I went out there, I don't know; I just got really calm, sleepy almost."