Whom do you recruit to open for your hometown reunion show when you haven’t played together as a band in fourteen years? If you’re 1990s Los Angeles stalwarts that dog., who after three critically acclaimed and modestly-successful records on DGC, fell almost completely off the critical radar when they disbanded in 1997, the answer is simple. Call Maya Rudolph and her Prince cover band!
What seems like a bizarre double-bill actually makes a lot of sense given the participants’ shared history; the members of that dog. contributed plenty of session work for the likes of Weezer and Beck, and sisters Petra and Rachel Haden have played with Rudolph when the actress was a touring member of the Rentals in 1995. We could go on about their musical interconnections (and parentage, e.g. Rudolph’s mother Minnie Riperton), but the key takeaway here is the video above, in which Rudolph and band (Princess—get it?) deliver their take on classic Purple Rain cut “Darling Nikki.”
Beyoncé treated fans in Nice, France to a three-song cover medley in concert last night, tackling Queen‘s “Bohemian Rhapsody,”Prince‘s “The Beautiful Ones,” and Kings of Leon‘s “Sex on Fire” in quick progression. B bungled a few of the “Bohemian Rhapsody” lyrics, but by the time she hit Prince, she hit her lyrical stride.
With Kid Rock as host, it’s no surprise that the CMT Music Awards went pop last night. After a gag entrance in which Kid Rock tried to open the show with “Bawitdaba” only to be interrupted by Wynonna for a duet debut of her “Till My Dying Day.” Later in the show, The Band Perry introduced their performance of single “You Lie” with a snippet of “Love the Way You Lie.”
The undisputed crossover champions of the night were Lady Antebellum, who halfway through their performance of “Just a Kiss” switched over to a much funkier “Kiss”—the 1986 single from Prince and the Revolution‘s Parade. Lady A, who have showed their pop potential at the Grammys, on the charts, and, increasingly, in performance, turned out a great rendition (though admittedly, Prince songs are really hard to cover poorly). They didn’t explicitly mention Prince’s 53rd birthday the day before, but we’d like to think the performance was, in part, a birthday tribute.
This weekend, Prince‘s “Welcome 2 America” tour took over the L.A. Forum for the first full weekend of the artist’s planned 21 night residency. The kickoff show, which was held back on April 14, wasn’t exactly hailed by the LA Times as quite the barnstorming success of his New York stint, but entertaining, nonetheless. Recently, he stopped by Lopez Tonight for an entertaining (and somewhat revealing) interview which was notable for one particularly weird request from the purple one to the world at large: Don’t cover his songs.
Ever wonder what Prince smells like? Assuring that "Purple Will Reign," the digit-obsessed singer will release a new fragrance called 3121 — not coincidentally the name of his last album. The perfume, available on the auspicious July 7th, is said to be "a kaleidoscope of rich florals…Xquisite, Mysterious, Xotic." In addition to his foray into cosmetics, Prince will also play a grueling 21-night residency in London during the month of August, laying to rest any questions as to the 49-year-old’s stamina.
Sanjaya Family Drug Cartel Exposed Mom-jaya was caught with 310 marijuana plants, sis-jaya was arrested for possession and stepdad-jaya pleaded guilty to unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance. [TMZ]
Prince Makes Paris Turn Purple Hilton stormed off the stage at a Vegas club after Prince handed her the mic, asking: "Let’s see if she can really sing?" Ouch! [Us Magazine]
Sienna Wants Lesbian Role With Kiera After Lindsay bowed out of film, Sienna Miller jumped at the chance for some girl-on-girl action with British babe Kiera Knightley. [Fox]
Ever wonder what Prince smells like? Assuring that "Purple Will Reign," the digit-obsessed singer will release a new fragrance called 
Sanjaya Family Drug Cartel Exposed
