Prince Parties With Naomi Campbell, Whoopi Goldberg Onstage at MSG

On Saturday night, Prince continued his Welcome 2 America Tour with a show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The career-spanning setlist included a few songs with legendary drummer and frequent Prince collaborator Sheila E., a raft of hits from Prince’s seemingly bottomless catalog and a show-closing onstage dance party.

Rob Sheffield reviews the first night of Prince’s Welcome 2 America tour

The show opened with “Welcome 2 America” and went right into a cover of Sylvester’s 1978 disco classic “Dance (Disco Heat),” then veered into the Purple Rain-spawned declaration “Baby I’m a Star.” Ballerina Misty Copeland, who performed in Prince’s 2009 video for his cover of “Crimson and Clover,” then came out to accompany Prince’s performance of the intense ballad “The Beautiful Ones.”

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And then a dance party broke out, with Prince tossing out hits like “Delirious” and “Let’s Go Crazy” and a cover of “Cool” by his Minneapolis cohorts the Time. Sheila E. came out to duet on “U Got The Look,” perform her Prince-penned 1984 hit “The Glamorous Life” and show off some of her drumming skills.

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The show’s first encore was an extended take on Prince’s legendary 1986 track “Kiss”; for the show’s second (and final) encore, Sheila E. returned and Prince invited up celebrities who were scattered around the stage, which was shaped like Prince’s trademark glyph. ?uestlove, Whoopi Goldberg, Dr. Cornel West and Naomi Campbell were among the VIPs who boogied to an extended version of Prince and Sheila E.’s duet “A Love Bizarre.”

On Sunday, Prince promised that he had plans for his New York fans before his next show at MSG, which is scheduled for December 29. “Sit Still 4 9 days? Expect surprises if U’r in NY,” he posted late Sunday. He then added, “Got a cool place 4 U 2 chill B4 the 29ths show at MSG. Details soon.”

Welcome 2 America Live [LiveNation.com]