Between questions about alleged paternity testing for possible heirs and questions regarding whether his vault should be opened, the legacy left behind by Prince is a large and complicated one. However, ever since the 57-year-old rock god was found dead in his Minnesota home in April, one thing remains clear — his contributions to music are without question. No one can deny this fact, which is why the 2016 Billboard Music Awards will honor the late legend during a televised ceremony on Sunday, May 22, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. What’s more, the Material Girl herself, Madonna, will pay tribute to Prince.
Billboard announced the late addition to the festivities on Wednesday, saying that the “legendary pop singer will pay tribute to her good friend and fellow artist” in “what promises to be one of the highlights” of this year’s awards ceremony. No other details were provided by Billboard or Dick Clark Productions in the official statement. Nor was the Associated Press able to ascertain any additional information about the Madonna-led performance.
In addition to the Prince tribute, the 2016 Billboard Music Awards will feature a collaboration between Nick Jonas and Tove Lo, as well as individual appearances by Justin Bieber, DNCE, Fifth Harmony, The Go-Go’s, Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, Pink, Britney Spears and Troye Sivan. Singer Celine Dion, who’s also set to perform, will be on hand to receive the organization’s ICON Award — the same career-focused honor that Prince garnered in 2013.
(Via Billboard and Associated Press)