Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson，简称Prince，是一位美国歌手、词曲作者、多乐器演奏家和电影制作人，他重新定义了流行音乐。他是一位演奏数十种乐器的天才，将放克、摇滚、R&B和流行音乐融合为明尼阿波利斯之声。他发行了39张录音室专辑，销量超过1亿张唱片，是史上销量最高的艺术家之一。他1984年的电影Purple Rain获得了奥斯卡最佳原创歌曲配乐奖，并且他成为第一位同时在美国拥有排行榜第一的电影、专辑和单曲的艺术家。Prince以其雌雄同体的风格、紫色主题的美学和强烈的独立性而闻名，他为争取创意控制权而斗争，最著名的是在1993年将自己的名字改为一个无法发音的符号。他于2004年入选摇滚名人堂，并获得了七项格莱美奖。Prince于2016年4月21日因意外芬太尼过量在他位于Paisley Park的庄园去世，留下了大量的未发行音乐，继续烘托他的传奇。他的遗产由Primary Wave Music管理，在他去世后已赚取超过1亿美元，目前价值估计约为1.8亿美元。[编辑]

Prince Rogers Nelson于1958年6月7日出生在明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯，他的名字来源于他父亲在Prince Rogers Trio乐队时的艺名。他的父亲John Lewis Nelson是一位爵士钢琴家和作曲家；他的母亲Mattie Della Shaw是一位社会工作者，拥有明尼苏达大学硕士学位。他们在北明尼阿波利斯的Blue Note爵士俱乐部相遇。他的父母在他年幼时离婚，Prince在他们家之间辗转，经常住在邻居Andersons家。他们的儿子Andre，后来被称为Andre Cymone，成为他一生的朋友和早期乐队成员。

Prince从小就自学了钢琴、吉他、贝斯和鼓。据他母亲回忆，他三四岁时就会在百货商店里摆弄任何乐器。他曾就读于明尼阿波利斯的Bryant Junior High和Central High School，在那里他和Andre Cymone、Morris Day组建了一个翻唱乐队，名为Grand Central。乐队后来更名为Champagne。当地音乐家Sonny Thompson让他接触到摇滚音乐，这是明尼阿波利斯之声的关键组成部分。十几岁时，他学会了吉他并开始录制录音室专辑。18岁时，Prince与Warner Bros. Records签约，并于1978年发行了他的首张专辑For You，他在这张专辑中演奏了全部27种乐器并亲自制作，使他成为当时Warner Bros.历史上最年轻的制作人。[编辑]

Prince的评论界突破来自于1980年的Dirty Mind，这是一张融合了放克、摇滚和流行音乐的挑衅性专辑。1999（1982年）是他首次获得重大商业成功，销量达到四白金，并产生了像“Little Red Corvette”这样的热门歌曲。这张专辑中他的乐队The Revolution的出现更为突出。1984年，Purple Rain爆炸性推出：其电影原声带在Billboard 200排行榜上连续24周位居榜首，电影获得了奥斯卡最佳原创歌曲配乐奖。Prince成为自披头士乐队以来第一位同时在美国拥有排行榜第一的电影、专辑和单曲的艺术家。单曲包括“When Doves Cry”，这首歌以没有贝斯吉他而闻名，以及同名曲。这张专辑销量超过1300万张。

在Parade（1986年）之后，他解散了The Revolution乐队，并于1987年发行了Sign o' the Times，这张专辑被广泛誉为他的杰作。1989年，他发行了蒂姆·伯顿执导的电影Batman的排行榜第一的电影原声带。1992年，他与Warner Bros.签署了一份价值1亿美元、包含六张专辑的合约，这在当时是音乐史上最大的合约。在合同纠纷后，他于1993年将自己的名字改为一个无法发音的符号，并于2000年恢复为Prince。2004年，他凭借Musicology重返前十名，赢得了两项格莱美奖，并于2007年在超级碗XLI上表演。他一直发行音乐直到2016年去世。[编辑]

Prince的公众形象以雌雄同体的张扬风格为标志：高跟靴、荷叶边衬衫、紧身裤和精致的妆容。紫色成为他的标志性颜色，为他赢得了“紫色王子”的绰号。他被塑造为一位音乐天才、一位完美主义者以及一位为争取创意控制权而斗争的、极其独立的艺术家。他的性取向故意含糊不清且具有挑衅性。粉丝们，通常被称为“紫色军队”，会前往Paisley Park朝圣。该庄园的社交媒体专注于他的遗产、音乐和稀有的档案内容。Prince以私密著称，生前社交媒体存在感有限。他的官方账户现在由他的遗产管理。[编辑]

Prince's audience formed a fiercely loyal, self-organized community that operated long before social media algorithms could quantify devotion. Fans identified through his own branding as the NPG family or simply by their embrace of the purple aesthetic, creating a cult-like following that treated his concerts as sacred events. The fanbase pioneered direct artist-to-fan engagement with the NPG Music Club in 2001, allowing members to bypass traditional distribution for exclusive content. This connection sparked massive collective actions after his passing, where listeners flooded streaming platforms to propel his entire catalog into the Billboard Top 10 simultaneously, a phenomenon known as the Purple Rain Effect. Rituals persist globally, from pilgrimages to First Avenue in Minneapolis to the universal gesture of pointing skyward during the climax of "Purple Rain." While no single official name like Swifties exists, the unified identity of these fans remains one of the most organized in music history. Their influence extends to chart manipulation and charity drives focused on music education in Prince's hometown. The iFANN Global Fame Rankings now measure this enduring legacy alongside contemporary metrics. According to August 2026 data, he stands as the 440th most famous person in the world, holding steady from the previous cycle. In his home country, he ranks as the 75th most famous person in United States. Across North America, he is positioned at the 80th most famous person in North America. Within the R&B and Soul genre specifically, he holds the 25th most famous person in R&B / Soul spot.[编辑]

Prince played 27 instruments on his debut album For You and became the youngest producer in Warner Bros. history at age 19. He won an Oscar before turning 27, and his $100 million contract in 1992 was the largest in music history at the time. A radical choice saw "When Doves Cry" released without a bass guitar line. He wrote "Nothing Compares 2 U" for the Family, which later became a hit for Sinéad O'Connor, and penned "I Feel for You" for Chaka Khan. Later in life, he converted to Jehovah's Witness in the early 2000s. To protest his contract with Warner Bros., he famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993. Legends surround the abrupt disbanding of The Revolution in late 1986, a moment bandmates describe as sudden and confusing as Prince pivoted toward his New Power Generation sound. The premiere of the film Purple Rain in July 1984 cemented his image as a guitar-wielding messiah, featuring a legendary performance where he played until dawn at the Los Angeles Forum. His death on April 21, 2016, at Paisley Park from an accidental fentanyl overdose triggered a global outpouring of grief and mythologized accounts of his final days.[编辑]

Prince的父亲John Lewis Nelson是Prince Rogers Trio乐队的爵士钢琴家和作曲家。他的母亲Mattie Della Shaw是一位社会工作者，在明尼阿波利斯公立学校工作了二十多年。Prince年幼时，他们的父母就离婚了。他有一个妹妹Tyka Nelson，曾参与遗产管理。Prince于1996年与Mayte Garcia结婚；他们的儿子Boy Gregory于1996年10月16日出生，一周后因Pfeiffer综合征去世。两人于1999年离婚。他于2001年与Manuela Testolini结婚；两人于2006年离婚。在他去世时，Prince没有公开的恋爱关系。他住在自己位于明尼苏达州Chanhassen的庄园Paisley Park，该庄园现在作为一个博物馆运营。庄园内包括一个录音室和居住区。[编辑]

Prince 与童年好友 Andre Cymone 和 Morris Day 有广泛的合作，他们曾是早期乐队成员。The Revolution 乐队成员 Wendy Melvoin 和 Lisa Coleman 对他80年代的音乐风格至关重要。他曾与 Sheila E. 在音乐上和感情上都有合作，并为 Chaka Khan 和 Sinéad O'Connor 创作歌曲。制作人 Jimmy Jam 和 Terry Lewis 曾是 Prince 相关项目 The Time 乐队的成员。[编辑]

Prince 的第一段公开恋情是与 Susannah Melvoin，她是 Revolution 乐队吉他手 Wendy Melvoin 的妹妹，大约在1983年至1985年间。1984年至1985年，他与《Purple Rain》的联合主演 Apollonia Kotero 有过恋情传闻，但双方均未证实。他大约在1984年至1986年间与打击乐手 Sheila E. 交往，这段关系既有感情成分，也有合作成分。1996年情人节，他与舞者 Mayte Garcia 结婚；他们的儿子 Boy Gregory 于1996年10月出生，但在出生一周后夭折。他们于1999年离婚。2001年除夕，他与在慈善机构工作 Manuela Testolini 结婚；他们于2006年离婚。截至去世时，Prince 并未公开恋爱关系。[编辑]

Tributes poured in from peers including Beyoncé, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder immediately after the news broke, while the White House issued a statement honoring his genius. Fan vigils erupted spontaneously at Paisley Park in Chanhassen and at the Purple Rain statue in Minneapolis, where thousands gathered to light candles and play his music. His catalog topped the Billboard charts within days, with "Purple Rain" re-entering the top 10, as memorial murals appeared in cities worldwide. Prince Rogers Nelson was found unconscious in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate on April 21, 2016, following a surprise concert earlier that day. The Carver County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death an accidental overdose of fentanyl based on toxicology results from an autopsy.

Investigations into the prescribing practices of Dr. Francis O'Brien led to his guilty plea in 2018 for providing controlled substances without a valid prescription. A small private funeral service took place on April 27, 2016, at Woodlawn Cemetery in Minneapolis, followed by a larger public celebration titled "A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Prince" at First Avenue club on April 30. Posthumous releases included the album Piano & A Microphone 1983 in 2018 and Welcome 2 America in 2021, alongside documentaries like Prince: Sign o' the Times. The estate is currently managed by co-executors Princess, Prince II, and Tyka Nelson to preserve his artistic legacy.[编辑]

At the time of his death in 2016, Prince's net worth was estimated between $60 million and $100 million. Since then, his estate has earned over $100 million, with the current value estimated around $180 million as of 2026 per iFANN's editorial analysis. The estate is managed by Primary Wave Music, which acquired a significant stake. Revenue comes from posthumous album releases like Welcome 2 America (2021), streaming royalties, licensing deals for film and TV, the Paisley Park museum, merchandise, and the vast vault of unreleased recordings. His music catalog is valued at roughly $50-100 million, with real estate including Paisley Park worth $10-20 million. Cash and investments were estimated at $10-30 million. Primary Wave's partnership has steadily grown the estate's value.[编辑]

Prince凭借《Purple Rain》（1985）获得奥斯卡最佳原创歌曲配乐奖，并凭借同一部电影获得金球奖最佳原创配乐奖。他获得了七项格莱美奖，包括凭《Purple Rain》获得最佳摇滚表演奖和凭《Kiss》获得最佳R&B歌曲奖。他获得了格莱美总裁功勋奖、全美音乐奖功勋奖以及公告牌偶像奖（2013）。他于2004年入选摇滚名人堂，2016年入选节奏蓝调音乐名人堂，2024年入选创作人名人堂。[编辑]