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Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but unfortunately some truly talented individuals fell victim to some really subpar musical tributes to their favorite artists. Whether it was age, nerves or just a mismatch between honorers and honorees, these performances fell pretty short in their aim to salute the works of music’s greatest talents. Though many of the musicians being saluted took their lackluster tributes in stride, we can definitely say one woman who may just happen to be the Queen of Soul certainly didn’t look amused. So without further adieu we bring you 15 of the worst musical tributes to ever hit the stage. OK, that was dramatic.

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Trey Songz Takes On Prince

In theory this could have been a great match. Here you have incredible hot, wonderfully talented Trey Songz tapped to salute the one and only Prince at the 2010 BET Awards. Though a cliché choice, you can’t go wrong with “Purple Rain.” Well, that was until Trey Trey got a hold of it. Doing this weird fusion of “Yo Side of the Bed” and “Purple Rain” – not to mention the atrocious American Idol-esque, amateur oversinging — not only made Prince give the stank eye, but everyone watching had an undeniable look of the WTF variety. Come on, man. You don’t mess with a classic and you certainly don’t mess with Prince.

We’ve talked many a time about people we used to jam to in the music industry who didn’t go as far and become as big of staples in said industry as we thought they would. To put it less than nicely, they fell off. It could have been that their sound just wasn’t all that, or that their look wasn’t HOT enough (no crotch shots, no love) for the mainstream, but you won’t find these people with near as many fans as say a Drake or a Rihanna has today. Not to say that they didn’t have their share of success, but c’mon, where are they now?

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Amerie

After Amerie dropped her debut album, All I Have, the future looked incredibly bright for the Korean and African American singer. She had a different look, a different voice, and a great personality. And once she dropped “One Thing,” the lead single for her second album (Touch), which hit number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, I assumed more and more doors were going to open for the singer. But while she had Beyonce’s producers for her second album, she didn’t have Bey’s success. Though Touch did reach gold status, it wasn’t enough for her label, Columbia Records. She was dropped in 2007. Since then, Amerie released another album, In Love and War, which didn’t sell well at all thanks to a lack of radio support. She has hopes to release a new album, under the name Ameriie, and she’s given herself a big makeover by chopping off her hair and slimming down her nose.

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By Justin Ray

There are important elements to a hit song like a beat that will bring you out of your seat and a bass line that will cause you to make a funky face. However one of the most important parts of a song is the vocals. Sometimes a song that should have been a hit will lose its thunder because of a singer who can’t match the flavor. The beat can be Hot as hell but paired with the wrong singer the whole track can become a dud. Take a look at these songs that would sound better if someone else recorded the vocals.

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