Great minds and musicians think alike, or so was proven when both Kelly Clarkson and TV on The Radio were playing in the biggest cities in Minnesota, home state of Prince in the last week. TV on The Radio swung through Minneapolis on its way to Lollapalooza in Chicago and opted to cover "Purple Rain." Clarkson has been covering plenty of songs as part of her current tour, and she also decided upon "Purple Rain" during her show in St. Paul.
The latter act was apparently more nervous about taking on such an epic task.
"I ask you to love me and not judge me, because it's such a great classic song from someone from here," she said before singing the track.
Clarkson certainly had the vocal chops to pull of the cover, but part of its beauty is the epic outro, which helped TV on The Radio come a bit more prepared for the song.
The band had the stage set perfectly for such a cover, with the lights shining purple down upon them. Frontman Tunde Adebimpe and guitarist Kyp Malone traded vocals, as well as inviting Nona Marie Invie of the opening act, RONiiA, to come aboard and sing as well. Malone took the unenviable role of trying to live up to Prince's legendary solo. Even if it's unfair to compare the latter element of the performance, TV did the right thing by setting "Purple Rain" as the closing number in the set. Even if it's not the band's song, it's tough to follow that up. Best to go out while you're ahead.
The whole incident makes your correspondent somewhat irritated actually; we were in Chicago for the band's set at Lollapalooza, when it was cut short 15 minutes to allow headliner Florence + The Machine to take the stage before severe weather set in. Who's to say the band wouldn't have recycled the Prince cover?
Whatever. Check out both videos below:
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
