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Prince's "Per4ming Live 3121" Residency Show Attendance

Date range assessed by the fact that Michael and his kids left back for Vegas on December 23, 2006, and the only shows left in 2006 were from December 29-31, 2006, confirmed on Ticketmaster (archive of December 15, 2006)

Chris Tucker, friend, “Vegas Seven” (May 25, 2016) (archived)

Vegas Seven: You attended Prince’s concert at the Rio here in 2006—and sat with Michael Jackson. Will.i.am, who was also there, was on Ellen recently and claimed Prince walked right up to Michael Jackson and played the bass in his face to taunt him. Is that how it really went down?

Chris Tucker: [Laughs] It did go down sorta like that. It was amazing. I was there with the king watching the prince. I’m sitting with Michael, and I kept looking at Michael and looking at [Prince]. I’m wondering, is he going to say something? Is he going to respond? And Michael was like [impersonating Michael and clapping], “Very good, very good.” He was excited and happy for Prince. It was a surreal moment, man.

will.i.am, rapper/singer/songwriter, CraveOnline interview (June 12, 2009) (archived)

CraveOnline: Will you be there at the [“This is It”] concert?

will.i.am: I don't know but I know that one time I was in Vegas and he’s like, “Oh, I heard you’re in Vegas.” I was like, “Yeah, we have a show tonight. Can you come?” “What time you guys go on?” We go on at 9 o’clock. I swear to God, “Oh, rats.” He said rats. “Oh, rats, I can’t. I’ve got to put the kids to sleep.” All right, well after we perform with the Peas, I’m performing with Prince. You should come to the show. So Prince invited me to perform with him at the Palms. Maybe you can come see me perform with Prince. So Michael Jackson says, “Oh really? I’d love to. Call Prince and see if it’s cool.” I call Prince’s assistant. She’s like sure. So I’m like, “Yo, Mike, it’s great.” Come on, dude. This shit ain’t real. To me, that that happened, it sounds like a big ass lie, right? Yeah, I’ll just call Prince and then bring Michael Jackson but it’s the realest shit. So, I’m late. I’m late. I’m in the cab, like aw, man, what a time to be fuckin’ late. I’m always late and I’m late for Michael Jackson to see me perform with Prince. So I hop off the cab and I’m running in Las Vegas. I’m running and people are like, “Wyclef!” I’m like fuck you, right? Then I run and I get to the place and I perform for Prince and I walk off stage and Michael’s there. He’s like, “That was awesome.” Mind you, we were already in Ireland. He’s like, “That was awesome. I didn’t know you rapped.” I was like, “What? You don’t know I rap? I’m in the Black Eyed Peas.” “I didn’t think it was you that was the rapper. I thought it was the other guy.” I was like, “No, that’s me, dude.” “You’re awesome, that was awesome. We need to do something like that on my record where you rap and I sing.” Yeah, but that was a great experience to have Mike see me perform with Prince. It was nuts. That’s great, cool.

“Rolling Stone” (April 29, 2010) (archived)

Prince invited Will.i.am to sit in with him at a show in Las Vegas. Will asked if he could invite a singer-songwriter he was working with — Michael Jackson, who Will says had a beef with Prince running back to a 1983 misunderstanding at a James Brown concert. Jackson showed. “I told Quincy, and he was like, ‘I can’t believe you got Mike to go there,'” says Will.i.am. “Prince and Mi­chael Jackson? Come on, dude. That’s connecting worlds.”

“Vibe” (June 21, 2010) (archived)

Yet, as confident as Michael was about his re-introduction to a new generation of music fans, away from the studio he let down his steely guard. After attending a show by his old friend and rival Prince at the Palms hotel with Will, MJ invited him to have breakfast at his house. “We’ve always been compared to each other, but we are so different,” Michael said of the Purple One, who had made a point of showing off for Will and Jackson, jamming in front of them with his bass guitar. “He was always viewed as the songwriter and I was always an entertainer. But they’ve never really acknowledged that I write. I wrote “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Man in the Mirror,” “We Are the World” . . . big songs. I have so much love for Prince. But why don’t they look at me the same way?”

Ellen interview (April 27, 2016)

Ellen: Michael Jackson and Prince did not get along which I did not know that, but you took Michael to see Prince or you took Prince to see Michael, which was it?

will.i.am: So one time, Black Eyed Peas had a show in Vegas, and we got to Vegas and I get a phone call from Michael, and he says, "It's Michael, and I heard you guys are performing tonight." I was like, "Yeah we go on at 9 PM." He's like, "Oh rats, I got to put the kids to sleep." "Well, later on, I'm performing with Prince, I'm probably going to do this little number with Prince at the Rio", and he said, "I'd love to do that, but I don't know if I can do that." I was like, "Why?" He was like, "Oh, I dunno, Prince and I always have been at odds with each other." I was like, "Oh no, let me call him on the phone and I'll call you right back. I think everything will be great." So I hang up the phone, call this lady named Ruth, who then would put me in contact with Prince. I was saying, "Michael Jackson wants to come to the show, can you put him in a VIP section where no one knows he's there?" So Prince said, "Oh yeah, we can arrange that." So I get off the phone, called Michael Jackson and said, "It's set, everything's gonna be great." We walk him to the VIP room. We get off the stage, [goes to] sit down with me, Prince and his manager, and Chris Tucker. So then Prince is playing the bass, walks off the stage, walks to our area, our section where Michael Jackson's at. Now say, for example, you (Ellen) are Michael Jackson, I'm Prince. [Proceeds to imitate playing bass in Ellen's face] And goes off to the stage, right? And so Michael Jackson's like, "What's up with Prince playing the bass in my face?"

Graham Norton Show (May 13, 2016)

Graham Norton: You brought Michael Jackson and Prince together?

will.i.am: Yeah, so one time we had a show  in Vegas and Michael Jackson called. "Hey it's Michael. Yeah, so I heard you guys are doing a show tonight." "Yeah we go on at 9 o'clock." "Oh, rats, I got to put the kids to sleep." So I was like, "Well, I'm performing with Prince later on at 12:00." So, anyways, Michael came to see me rock with Prince, and it was a magnificent night to see. It was me, Chris Tucker, Michael Jackson watching Prince rock on stage. So, to make a long story short, Prince steps off the stage and plays the bass in Michael Jackson's face, rips the freaking bass, ten different pieces. To make a longer story shorter, Michael Jackson leaves and goes home and says, "Meet me in the house for breakfast." So I go to his house for breakfast, knock on the door, first words, he says, "Why was Prince playing the bass in my face?" "Oh, Prince, he's just being nice" "No, Prince, he's always been a meanie." But, bless their hearts, they were so passionate and we lost a great…