Another day, another small-time controversy! The Democratic National Convention is ongoing, and some prominent names have already appeared in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. One of those appearances happened to be one of the coaches from The Voice, John Legend! Legend showed up, belting out a rendition of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy." You can watch the performance below!
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My children: ?Dad how talented was Prince??
Me: ?So talented that it took a Grammy Award winning artist (John Legend) AND an amazing guitarist to do what he did by himself, and I?m not so sure they equaled him.? pic.twitter.com/t3pdoNvAtl
— Cory Yates (@CoryRAanalytics) August 22, 2024
Granted, there are some people who thought Legend did a great job honoring the late, great Prince! However, the popular opinion seems to be that Legend wasn't anywhere near close to the mark of Prince's greatness.
"John legend is waaaaayyyy too corny to pull off Prince. That felt like a karaoke performance. Guitar solo ripped tho," one X (formerly known as Twitter) user commented. Yikes. Prince was one of the coolest musicians to ever live. He didn't even have to try -- when he walked into a room, he just was. Undeniable and unique.
A Prince cover rarely goes well for that exact reason. But to explicitly be called "corny" is another level of pain.
A Coach From 'The Voice' Turns In An Ill-Received Prince Cover
"Legend just doesn't have Prince's electricity (or the high notes) for this song. And I doubt he would have either sang at or allowed it to be covered for this event as he was not political and his Jehovah's Witness religion did not recognize politics."
That comment goes a bit sideways toward the end, but the beginning is entirely accurate! A person can't match Prince's stage presence and performance skills. It simply can't be done. Legend should've played it safe with a different artist, honestly.
"These are the facts : 1. Prince hated his songs being covered 2. he was no longer in contact with Sheila E years before he passed 3. He didn't believe in the 2 party system so he would not have liked his song being used in a Dem or Rep convention alike. 4. He did not vote."
You know, none of those Prince facts surprise me. With the power of hindsight, yeah, Prince would never accept anyone trying to approximate his aura. Well, Legend, at least it was a noble effort!
