Janelle Monae honors Stevie Wonder with Key of Life Award

R&B superstar Janelle Monae was on hand to help present Stevie Wonder with the inaugural Key of Life Award on Saturday (15Apr17).

The new prize, awarded by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), was given to the 66-year-old to celebrate his "peerless contributions to the world through his music."

Janelle, who wore a dress emblazoned with Stevie's song and album titles for the occasion, helped ASCAP president/chairman Paul Williams present the gong to the Superstition singer.

The festivities included a one-one conversation with Janelle about his life and career, as well as performances of old and new material.

According to editors at Billboard.com, the 31-year-old singer and actress joked she was in awe about being in the presence of the her musical idol, saying, "I'm not Janelle Monae. I'm student Janelle."

As well as talking about how he started his music career at just 11 years old by signing to the legendary Motown record label, 25-time Grammy Award winner Stevie even debuted a new ballad, Where's Our Love Song.

Prior to the performance, Stevie admitted he had the melody to the track figured out for decades, but had only recently written the lyrics in response to recent political events.

"I knew I wanted to do this song at some point," he recalled. "Then I witnessed what's been going on recently, all of the negativity. So when I did come back to the song, I was able to write the words because it represented what my heart was feeling."

Future editions of the prize, named in honor of Stevie's album Songs in the Key of Life, will be "presented to songwriters and composers who best exemplify his (Stevie's) legacy through their commitment to the art form."