Stevie Wonder leads Prince tribute concert

Singers John Mayer and Christina Aguilera dropped out of a tribute concert to Prince, but it was still an amazing night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, as Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan took the centrestage to perform some of the late singers hit songs.

US President Barack Obama rolled off the event with a video message on Thursday, reports aceshowbiz.com

"Thank you, Prince, for all the great works you have done. You will be in our hearts forever," said Obama, who is a fan of the late singer.

Former White House adviser Van Jones, meanwhile, spoke about Prince's anonymous charitable donations.

"I don't think Prince wanted to save the world. I think what Prince wanted to do is make sure that people's gifts... had a chance to sing," he said.

Wonder, wearing a suit and purple shirt, joined Chaka Khan for a duet on Prince's "I feel for you". The two later performed Prince's hit "1999".

Morris Day, Prince's childhood friend in Minneapolis, joined his band The Time to perform tracks from the group's album "What Time Is It?", which was recorded at Prince's studio.

Prince's sister Tyka Nelson appeared on stage and said of Price's fans: "I want them to get some closure. It takes time to kind of get over it, and I see that they are grief-stricken."

--IANS

sas/rb/vt