Patti LaBelle, Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding and Alicia Keys

So, there I was surfing the web when I stumbled across a truly golden moment in television history. While gathering footage a future article, I finally rediscovered Patti LaBelle ad Alicia Keys’ tribute to Prince at the 2010 BET Awards, and I felt compelled to share it as a reminder of real talent!

Following showings by Janelle Monae and Esperanza Spalding, Keys got the opportunity to honor Prince and climbed to the top of her piano, pregnant belly and all. However, it was LaBelle who stole the show with her powerful rendition of favourite song by her fellow legend, “Purple Rain”.

Sparkling from head to toe, LaBelle, who was 66 years of age at the time, made Trey Songz’ performance of “Purple Rin” a distant memory and earned a standing ovation from the crowd as she moved Prince to tears. By the way, how could we forget the classic scene when Prince caught LaBelle’s shoe?

Relive the 2010 BET Awards magic below as we look forward to this year’s ceremony:

“Still so moving!”

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images North America

Thoughts?