Let’s Go Crazy! Bruno Mars Gives Prince a Fittingly Royal Tribute at Grammys

In a year that saw many painful entertainment-world losses, the passing of musical genius Prince Rogers Nelson in April 2016 at the age of 57 was particularly stinging. The pioneer, a seven-time Grammy winner and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame warranted, a goes-without-saying tribute at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards — which proved to be a bittersweet but highly anticipated moment in a show filled with A-list appearances.

The tribute started out with a feel-good retro performance from probably Prince’s most successful Minneapolis Sound protégés, ’80s hit makers the Time, who kicked things off with their two singles that appeared in Purple Rain: “Jungle Love” and “The Bird.”

Although both songs are merely Prince co-writes, they were a welcome flashback to the Purple One’s most glorious era — complete with all the camp. Yes, Jerome Benton offered Morris Day a mirror to check his looks … and, yes, everyone onstage as well as members of the audience got loose flailing to the vintage dance moves.

Things didn’t become completely royal, however, until Bruno Mars — clad in a sequined purple suit and a frilly white shirt — took the stage to the spoken-word introduction to Prince’s Purple Rain opening number, “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Mars channeled Prince admirably, from his small stature to his eyeliner-adorned gaze to his agile dancing — all leading up to a flawless rendition of the song’s smoking guitar solo at the end.

As noted by Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, “I don’t mean to slam anyone else, but I think Bruno is as close as it gets to a Prince-like live stage persona.” We’d have to agree.

Mars wasn’t the only one to channel Prince. Earlier in the evening, Blue Ivy Carter — aka the adorable 5-year-old daughter of Beyoncé and Jay Z — stole hearts dressed in a magenta Prince-inspired pantsuit as she joined host James Corden, Neil Diamond, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Jason Derulo, and Ryan Tedder for a fun all-star “Carpool Karaoke” skit.

The 59th Annual Grammy Awards were aired live from Los Angeles on Feb. 12.