John Legend’s Prince tribute at DNC blasted as an ‘insult’ to late icon’s legacy; guitarist steals the show instead

Fans called out John Legend’s “lacklustre” attempt at covering Prince’s major hit track at DNC. Contrarily, Sheila E and “Ms Fender” hailed as rockstars.

John Legend became the subject of massive backlash after a disappointing showcase at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, August 21. The Grammy winner took the stage to perform a rendition of rock & roll icon Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Belting out the notes to the legendary ’80s song alongside Sheila E, he took over the music scene right before Minnesota Governor Tim Walz addressed voters at the United Centre.

John Legend became the subject of massive backlash after a disappointing showcase at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, August 21. The Grammy winner took the stage to perform a rendition of rock & roll icon Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Belting out the notes to the legendary ’80s song alongside Sheila E, he took over the music scene right before Minnesota Governor Tim Walz addressed voters at the United Centre.

A different social media critic slammed the Grammy winner for not being able to hit the right notes. “…he has no vibe. What an insult to Prince’s legacy, honestly people, leave it alone already. HAVE SOME RESPECT,” they added.
While many others were busy outright bashing the Legend, a fourth user took a more gentle approach to voice their criticism for him. “I was not a fan of John Legend singing this song (it didn’t fit his voice or style). But Sheila E… Sheila E is always (three fire emojis).”

Meanwhile, a fan pointed out, “First album John Legend could do this better, he’s too much of a crooner now.” A presumable Prince fan commented, “He would’ve hated it (purple heart emoji).” In a follow-up message, the same user continued, “Legend doesn’t have the juice to do Prince justice. You don’t need to be a Prince-like figure to do Prince, but you have to be an eccentric little freak like Prince.”
Guitarist Ari O’Neal hailed as the bigger star onstage during John Legend performance
Contrary to remarks directed towards John, guitarist Ari O’Neal (social media will also know her as “Ms Fender”) seemed to have gained quite the fan following with the DNC performance.