*D’Angelo was among the first set of artists announced earlier this month for the planned Prince tribute at Sunday’s BET Awards, but the singer ended up missing the show altogether.
Ultimately, several tributes took place throughout the program, with The Roots, Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monae, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Bilal and Sheila E tackling various Prince classics. But D’Angelo never showed up.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, BET had quietly and without explanation removed D’Angelo’s name from its last press release before the show, dated June 23. The crooner initially appeared in releases issued on the 20th, and “nearly each one since his participation in the tribute was announced on Prince’s birthday, June 7.”
Reps for the singer and BET have yet to offer an official explanation for D’Angelo’s absence. The only reference to it came from Questlove of The Roots, who responded via Twitter to a fan’s request to bring D’Angelo onstage by saying “Not gonna happen.”
Below, D’Angelo’s last Prince tribute was in April on “The Tonight Show,” when he performed “Sometimes it Snows In April” just days after the singer’s death.
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