Last night, the cast of The Color Purple, including Jennifer Hudson and Cynthia Erivo, did just that; following their performance, the actors assembled on stage and belted out Prince’s timeless ‘Purple Rain’.
Advertisement
Prince also worked with other artists. “When Doves Cry” spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in some ways speaks not only to the impeccable craft of Prince’s melodies but also to the power of his iconography. And honestly, brace yourself, because The Color Purple cast’s Prince tribute will give you goosebumps. I might not get through this, but I will try.
The 7-time Grammy-winning global superstar – who sold more than 100 million records during his career and won a 1985 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for Purple Rain – had been recently plagued by health problems. “He said his music would live on, he’d live on through his music”.
Following curtain call, the diva took to the stage to tell the audience about her own experience with the performer, whose body was found in his Paisley Park estate on Thursday morning. As fans rose to their feet, Hudson shouted, “I know you all know the song!” His parents separated when he was 10, and Prince, who ended up with six siblings and half siblings, moved back and forth between the homes of his mother and father.
The cast then launched into an electrifying cover of Prince’s beloved hit Purple Rain.
Advertisement
Prince. Gone? This can’t be real. Toward the end, she asked for the music to stop for the song to continue to be sung a capella. And wherever it is that you heard it, it was guaranteed that you would dance along because doom and gloom be damned, Prince’s music will always be a joy to hear and experience. Prince would have loved this.
