BET Awards 2020: Wayne Brady Pays Tribute to Little Richard

Wayne Brady is paying tribute to Little Richard. During the virtual 2020 BET Awards on Sunday, the 48-year-old actor remembered the late rock 'n' roll pioneer, who died last month of bone cancer at age 87.

Brady honored the music legend with an energetic, wild performance of some of the icon's biggest hits in a pretaped number that was the perfect amount of kinetic and fun to properly honor Richard's memory.

Decked out in a shimmering, golden tux and joined by two backup dancers -- one wearing a golden face mask -- Brady danced through a bar and out into the streets, singing Richard's most famous tune, "Tutti Frutti."

The song also served as an introduction to the 2020 BET Award's emotional In Memoriam tribute.

Before the tribute aired, ET's Nischelle Turner spoke with Brady about the "daunting" task of putting together a segment worthy of Little Richard.

"Little Richard just didn't sing a song. As the architect of rock 'n' roll, as the innovator, as the originator, he created this art form that was born out of a frenetic energy... I wanted to treat this performance [as more than,] 'Oh, Wayne's gonna sing a song,'" Brady explained. "Little Richard was an innovator and Little Richard was extra. He was extra before we knew the definition of, 'Oh, you extra.'"

"I wanted to put together a show in my house that showed [that] this is a tribute to him and all that he was -- in his grandiosity, and his musical prowess, and the verve, and the sex, and the rock, and the fun," he added. "I did that by just being me and doing what I do and [what] I learned by watching the greats like Little Richard."

Watch the video below for more of ET's interview with Brady.

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