When Bruno Mars paid an epic tribute to the late icon Prince

26 January 2026, 15:55

They share more similarities than you'd initially think.

Their stature might be the first quality you'd compare with Bruno Mars and Prince Rogers Nelson, given that they're both fairly short chaps.

Well, Prince certainly boosted his height on frequent occasions due to the outlandish pair of heels he'd usually be strutting around in.

But it's without doubt that both men are pure entertainers, and know how to capture an audience in the palms of their hands.

That and – though you might not put two and two together at first – they can both shred like the other on guitar.

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Prince was without doubt one of – if not the – greatest R&B stars of all time. It's almost unfair to refer to him as an R&B musician, given his sheer virtuosity across multiple genres and forms of music.

Where would popular music be without his constant stream of mega hits such as 'Purple Rain', 'Raspberry Beret', 'Little Red Corvette', 'When Doves Cry', 'Kiss', 'Nothing Compares 2 U', 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World', the list goes on.

Bruno Mars' record of hits isn't too shabby himself, with the likes of 'Just the Way You Are', 'Grenade', 'Locked Out of Heaven', 'When I Was Your Man' and 'Uptown Funk' being consistent fixtures on the airwaves for the past ten or so years.

So, when the Grammy Awards wanted a star to fill the shoes of Prince for a tribute to the late icon, Mars fit the bill.

Tragically, Prince Rogers Nelson passed away at the age of just 57 on April 21, 2016.

His fans worldwide and the music industry as a whole were left reeling, having lost one of its most ingenious stars.

So nearly a year later at the next Grammy Awards ceremony, Morris Day, The Time and Bruno Mars were assembled to pay tribute to Prince.

Morris Day and The Time performed 'Jungle Love' and 'The Bird', two songs the band co-wrote with Prince back in the day.

But then Mars made his way on stage for a blistering version of 'Let's Go Crazy' – and he did not disappoint.

Bruno Mars, Morris Day and The Time - Tribute a Prince ||Performance in the Grammys Awards 2017||

It takes some guts to take on a Prince song, especially one that blazes with such energy.

The Hawaiian hitmaker wasn't daunted by the prospect, however, even donning Prince's legendary Cloud guitar.

If you're going to perform the music of the 'Purple One', you may as well throw in everything you've got. And that's exactly what Mars did.

Wearing a luxuriously sequinned Purple Rain-style outfit, he displayed some serious pyrotechnical expertise on the fretboard.

Laying down a serious funk groove for the main riff, Mars showed some serious chops on the guitar – especially as he's more widely known for being a singer.

What was evident, however, was that Bruno Mars was a Prince mega fan, just like the rest of us.

His performance proved to be a major hit on the night, but also in the days and weeks after the awards ceremony took place.

Mars' take on 'Let's Go Crazy' went viral online, attracting over 14 million views on YouTube in a matter of days.

Fans of Bruno's admired his tribute, but were equally surprised by his talent on the lead guitar.

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One fan commented: "I have always liked Bruno. But I had no idea he even played guitar, let alone shred like he did. He nailed the guitar solo. Prince would’ve been proud."

Another left a comment highlighting that Bruno was the perfect pick, saying: "I don’t think any other performer could’ve done a better job at a Prince tribute. Bruno is very talented."

'Let's Go Crazy' was first released by Prince and The Revolution on 18th July 1984.

It was the single second from his lauded (and now legendary) Purple Rain album, which of course was the soundtrack for Prince's semi-autobiographical film of the same name.

Like many songs from the album, 'Let's Go Crazy' has become one of Prince's most enduring songs, racking up over 150 million streams as his 5th most-streamed song.

On the night, Bruno Mars said he was "terrified to touch that guitar", but took on the opportunity to "show the power of what one Prince song can do, let alone his incredible catalogue".

Let's just hope that Bruno takes up another chance to show us what incredible performance he can conjure up with another Prince song in the future.