St. Vincent, Clad In Purple, Makes Prince's 'Controversy' Come Alive

In the four years since the death of Prince, it feels like an entire new generation of musicians has discovered and showed reverence for The Purple One. That's how you get Haim drenching "I Would Perish 4 U" in sparkling reverie, Coldplay diving gently into "1999," and more. Nevertheless even as soon as he was still alive, Prince's songs had become American standards.


That's why something like Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince, which airs tonight (April 21) on CBS, feels like such a celebration. It features artists from across generations coming with each other to sing Prince's songs and honor him, four years to the day of his passing. H.E.R., Usher, Miguel, John Legend, Chris Martin, Normal, Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Foo Fighters, and more are all slated to perform, with special appearances by FKA Twigs, Fred Armisen, and more.


The energy is palpable. You could visualize it in the exclusive clip below, which finds St. Vincent — no stranger to energetic covers – taking on "Controversy," The Purple One's wiggly seven-minute exploration of sexuality, race, the divine, and more.


Clad in white boots plus a pale purple outfit of course, she kicks off the tune strumming her guitar and unleashing its iconic starting lyrics: "I just can't believe all of the things people mention (Controversy) / Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? (Controversy)." As St. Vincent costs forward into Prince's realm, backed by about a dozen other musicians and singers, headlines flash on a screen in back of her, underscoring the song's exploration of perception and curiosity.


In 2017, St. Vincent discussed about Prince throughout a tribute radio show on Beats 1, sharing a story about how he'd come to be able to see her play a concert in New York City in 2014. "I spent the complete show so incredibly nervous that Prince was there, however he didn't leave," she mentioned. "He stayed up until the encore and just slipped out on the very last song so he might miss the crowd."


See the rest of the efficiency, as well as so several more, throughout Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince tonight at 9 p.M. ET on CBS and CBS All Access.