Usher has been one of the go-to people when it’s time to honor the greats. So finding a collection of stars to fittingly tribute the young legend is no small feat. This year’s BET Awards attempted to do Ursh justice with a surprising lineup of stars that was, admittedly, hit and miss. Still, the tribute set had its moments to remember.
Things kicked with Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) delivering a slow, smoothed-out version of “U Don’t Have To Call.” His performance is mostly fine, though the arrangement of the song was an odd choice. What was also odd was Keke Palmer joining him on the memorable bridge before the camera awkwardly panned left before panning back to center stage for her performance of “You Make Me Wanna...” complete with the pants-dropping choreography from the 1997 music video.
Summer Walker then popped up to perform her verse from “Good Good” with a troupe of dancers as she gave us slight strip club vibes. Next up was Coco Jones, who popped out and showed folks in a skin-tight black outfit while performing “There Goes My Baby.” The rising starlet seduced men and women in the audience equally (including Usher and the singer’s new wife Jennifer Goicoechea as Ursh’s adoring former mom-ager Jonetta Patton looked on).
CASABLANCO songstress Marsha Ambrosius then took the stage for a mismatched performance of Confessions’ standout “Superstar.” She was then followed by one of the tribute’s best moments as Chlöe lit a fire under “Good Kisser” and contributed a few more titillating moments with a couple of her female dancers. This was followed by another mismatched performance as Tinashe took on “Nice & Slow.” While the “Nasty” girl amped up the sex appeal for sure, lyric flubs and an oddly paced arrangement took all the air out of something that could’ve been showstopping.
Teyana Taylor and Victoria Monét (who already hit the stage for her own performance) then worked it out with a performance of “Bad Girl.” Teyana handled the vocals while she and Victoria both did the damn thing with slick and smooth moves that, honestly, should’ve closed out the tribute. Unfortunately, Latto closed out the set by clumsily rapping over Ludacris’ rap from “Yeah!” before all the performers, minus Gambino, got back on stage to A-Town stomp it out for the finish.
His tribute could’ve been better, but Usher seemed to love every bit of it as he sat through it with a big smile on his face. He then returned the favor by giving an acceptance speech that was long, expletive-filled and at times controversial (including what some might have considered a swipe at his ex-wife Tameka Foster) that touched on his fame, his father and persevering in spite of the obstacles. All in all, though, it was a heartfelt thanks from a man who’s spent 30 years making hits and entertaining us all.
Watch the tribute in full and Usher’s 13-minute, uncensored acceptance speech for his Lifetime Achievement Award below.
