His name was Prince and he was musical royalty — and this evening his countless subjects are mourning his death.
The 57-year-old superstar died today in his Paisley Park estate in his native Minnesota following an undisclosed medical emergency.
One of the most iconic musicians of his generation, he made music for more than 40 years, dropping his first album in 1978 and releasing his last in September of last year. Known for secrecy and eccentricity, he won scores of fans for his original take on life and music, with E! declaring that his loss “can’t really be measured in earthly terms.”
Amid all those albums and releases it was his 1984 album “Purple Rain” that propelled him to mega-stardom, earning him 2 Grammy Awards and also an Academy Award. It helped pave the way for him to sell more than 100 million copies of his music.
Prince’s legacy is still tangible, with artists from Justin Timberlake to Lady Gaga expressing how he was an inspiration. Eurovision artists have voiced their love for him and his music too. Countless Eurostars have covered “Purple Rain”, and we’d like to share a sampling of them with you now.
RUTH LORENZO – PURPLE RAIN
Undoubtedly the most famous Prince cover by a Eurovision star comes from Ruth Lorenzo, who rocked the song during the X-Factor in 2008.
This evening Ruth tweeted about the singer’s death, showing her gratitude to him for creating the song that helped launch her.
You have given me so so much, your song made ME! I will be forever grateful to your Purple Rain… #RIPPrince ??? https://t.co/Fik32iXvoO
— Ruth Lorenzo (@RuthLorenzo) April 21, 2016
DAMI IM – PURPLE RAIN
This year’s Australian entrant also covered Prince’s hit single “Purple Rain” during her X-factor journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laKkuSvPmDI
JÜRI POOTSMAN – PURPLE RAIN
Another “Purple Rain” cover by Estonia’s entrant this year, Jüri Pootsman.
— Jüri Pootsmann (@j_pootsmann) April 21, 2016
EUROVISION STARS REACTIONS
AMANDINE BOURGEOIS (FRANCE 2013)
Choquée?RT C'est une légende qui vient de s'éteindre… Le chanteur Prince est décédé à l'âge de 57ans…. https://t.co/zvh1Imu0ZN
— Amandine Bourgeois (@ABourgeois) April 21, 2016
RYAN DOLAN (IRELAND 2013)
RIP Prince ? #legend #RIPPrince pic.twitter.com/pp424FzytQ
— Ryan Dolan (@ryandolanmusic) April 21, 2016
EMMA MARRONE (ITALY 2014)
? #Prince
— Emma Marrone (@MarroneEmma) April 21, 2016
AMIR (FRANCE 2016)
#RIP @prince ? The musical world just lost one of his greatest pillars… #PurpleRain of tears.
— ???? (@Amir_Off) April 21, 2016
ROBIN STJERNBERG (SWEDEN 2013)
Purple tears all over the world. Rest In Peace Prince ?
— Robin Stjernberg (@StjernbergRobin) April 21, 2016
ACE WILDER (MELODIFESTIVALEN 2014 & 2016)
POLI GENOVA ( BULGARIA 2011 & 2016)
LAURA TESORO ( BELGIUM 2016)
R.I.P Prince! ??
— Laura Tesoro (@Lauwraaaaah_) April 21, 2016
BAREI (SPAIN 2016)
No puede ser ? pic.twitter.com/vzbS7qNpdw
— BAREI (@BAREI_MUSIC) April 21, 2016
LIDIA ISAC (MOLDOVA 2016)
RIP Prince….
— Lidia Isac (@LidiaIsac) April 21, 2016
JAMALA (UKRAINE 2016)
So, who do you think covered Prince’s “Purple Rain” best? What is your favourite Prince memory? Let us know in the comments section below!
R.I.P Prince.
You should be proud of Dami Im, because she sung your Purple Rain totally Magnificent.
Dami Im sang an amazing impromptue tribute version of “Purple Rain” on Australian TV a few hours after the sad announcement of the death of Prince. She was on this show to perform some songs from her new album but they asked her to sing this as she has performed it before, and she was amazing! Dami posted this on her Facebook page – “I’ve sung Purple Rain a thousand times, but yesterday’s performance was the hardest. I was on my way to @sunriseon7 and @morningshowon7 to sing from my new album #ClassicCarpenters. On my way to the studio I… Read more »
The best response was from Jedward on their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BEesFw6KWOn
The twins speak so much truth and passion.
I think his creativity peaked with Bat Dance. An instant classic. I don’t know why no one has covered it.
I think Michal Szpak has the best voice to sing PURPLE RAIN – the song would sound powerful and veeery emotional. He sang it 5 years ago in X Factor but he was too young back then to interpret it the way he could do it now. Michal why don’t you give it a try? Pleeeeeaaaaase…
R.I.P Prince :'(
douwe bob opened his concert with purple rain last night.
rest in peace, prince ?
forgot to mention that Ira said on her Facebook, that she lost music heroes in this year David Bowie and now Prince 🙁
A great loss. I love his music. We left the best
i’m so shocked about this news, really sad
and Ira also tweeted about this on twitter,
why do they not mention that Celine Dion also mentioned this on twitter, Celine is the biggest eurovision winner to date, who got a really big career out of winning eurovision
Hey, you forgot about Eurovision winner Celine Dion! She also tweeted her sadness.
Also worth mentioning that she recorded his song “With This Tear” on her second English-language album, released in 1992. According to WikiPedia, he wrote the song especially for her. Listen to it here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_L594kQ0uE .
RIP, Prince.
Get Off, My Name is Prince and Sexy MF were my favourite upbeat funny full of humour and with a provocative vibe that I loved. But my actual forever favourite song is not among the big classics but in my little world which is enough – the stunning 1995 song “Gold” … “All that glitters ain’t gold”. RIP to the visionary and singular talent that he was. And it’s wonderful to see Eurovision stars embracing their musical soul by paying respect to the big ones … this is the Eurovision I love ..,the one that focus on music and not… Read more »
Requiem In Pace my beloved Prince 🙁
RIP Prince. Nothing compares to you. x
“Get Off” was my favourite dance song for years and years. He inspired me to dance like everybody was watching.
You can now rest in peace, Prince.
Rest in Peace, one of the greatest pop icons ever, he will be missed. :'(
https://youtu.be/eobem3gFW3U?t=1m31s Micha? Szpak sang it too in 2011.
So sad, I loved Prince so much.
Muy triste un artista integral, original y maravilloso…PRINCE forever.
Today, the doves are crying under the purple rain.
My fave song of his was Seven, although he had a lot of great hits.
Where he’s often overlooked is how prolific a songwriter he was. I’m trying to find his songwriting catalog, but the amount of work he did for other artists was insane.
Guy also had a fantastic Super Bowl show.
here’s Michal Szpak singing Purple Rain https://youtu.be/eobem3gFW3U?t=1m36s
you beautiful soul*
The one, the only. His Royal Highness, Prince of Music. Rest in peace beautiful you soul!
So shocked he passed. So sad.