On the one hand, it's great to see Prince getting his props as a great musician, but on the other hand, it means that more people become interested in him...

That means the days of the small shows are probably over. The competition for seats will get more frenzied...there won't be any more celebrations...

Plus, with the NPG Music Club charging only $25, it loses its exclusivity and becomes just another fan club with thousands of members.

So, how do you feel about? Will you be happy to see Prince as an A-list rock star?

I'm in 2 minds last year i would have definately said no but I guess I'm quite enjoying seeing performances on regular tv.I dont think he will become all that popular again and if he does it will probs just die off in awhile when the trend followers cotton onto something else.

Not to be overly negative but I think you're being a bit optimistic in how much more popular Prince is going to become again after all this PR 20th anniversary hoopla and all is said and done.

He might be enjoying a bit of a resurgance in popularity -or recognition, more accurately- at the moment but I honestly don't believe it's going to garner him thousands of new fans or put him on the A list of rock stars again.

A year or so from now everything will have calmed down and the people who have 'rediscovered' him this year will move on to another nostalgia act. Sorry, but I really think that will be the case.

Of course, maybe Musicology will prove to be a megasmash hit CD for him and then who knows...

it will pass.

Be glad that Prince is back in the spotlight again. We do NOT want a repeat of the mid-to-late-90's Prince.

Even if Musicology doesn't succeed (I think it has already succeeded, and it's not even out yet) it will have re-awakened Prince's taste for fame.

All of these talk shows and mini-concerts are getting him visibility, and that's what matters.

I'd love to see Prince do collaborations, as well as release his own albums. And, mostly, I'd love to see him REALLY release 2 or 3 albums a year, like he promised in 1994!

Batdance said:

Yes I want him to be an A-list rock star what's wrong with that and what's wrong if more people become interested in him all that would mean is more people will know what music is suppose to sound like compared to this bulls---
you hear today. As far as his NPG music club goes, I am not a member and never will be. I am a crazy fanatic, but I am only interested in his rare stuff. He has a talent that is rare that he has been keeping obscured these last few "years, especially with the name change, I want him to reconnect with his fans and gain new fans young and old.

Maybe if he gets back out here, more of these so-called acts will start becoming original again and come up with their own music instead of borrowing from somebody else and start singing live and come up with a better line that
"My milkshake is better than yours"

This is great & it's about time! I'm glad to see it coming together like this!

Just like to point out that since "Purple Rain" PRince has always been an A list Superstar. While his "flavor of the month" stock has ebbed and flowed he has always been able to live like a multi millionaire rock and roller. So although he is getting alot of mainstream coverage lately he has always been a huge star that people have been in awe of.

To me it means I have tickets to three shows, two of which promise to offer better seats than I've ever had. To me it also means I'm gonna see a simulcast of the kick-off concert. To me it means it's easier than it's ever been to see the man live and enjoy the music without a lot of hassle.

If this is the consequences of being a big star, then hey man - shine on.

It has already become more competitive to get the good seats for shows, but fuck it! I am glad that he is kicking ass and people are recognizing what a genius he truly is.

I don't feel so crazy for sticking with him during the dark ages! (ie. 1995-2002)

I remember hearing a quote from a TRC review that said, 'Prince is finally back musically and the record is excellent, too bad nobody, save his small group of hard-core fans, cares at this point.'


It is a great time 2 B a Prince fan!

I think it's great!!!

With P in the public eye again, I don't have to spend excessive amonts of time in this forum finding out what's happening with him

Rockhardinafunkyplace

i'm enjoying it. it's nice to go to work and have people talking about prince...and i didn't even bring him up! he's selling out large arenas, he's been on a half dozen tv shows, newspapers and magazines are talkin' him up again. it's just real nice! as far as the club goes...whatever. it has never been the be all and end all of my life. it serves its purpose...sometimes. i have always visited the org more often and i will continue to do so. prince has been a superstar for almost all of my life, so if he gets some deserved props again now, well, he earned it.

Over the years so many online Prince fans have been craving for Prince to be on the charts again, on mainstream radio again, in a myriad of different magazines' lists of best guitarists/top albums lists, and with a major label again, etc....it's not surprising to me that now some seem to have this feeling that it might not be a good thing for Prince to be popular again for whatever reason.

I mean, after all, Orgers will never be satisfied no matter what. Some of us are every bit as contradictory as we decry Prince of being.

It's good because it raises the bar again for what other musicians is expected of them, not just mindless word over dance beats,and a craft to be worked on toward perfection, and most importantyly perfoming LIVE and sounding better than the CD rather than vice versa!!!

he sold out two shows at a fairly large arena in chicago. he could not even sell out one show for jam of the year in chicago. there were empty seats at the united center when he played in chicago. so i would say his popularity is on the rise. i have mixed feelings about it also. i am worried with this lottery for tix - i should be in the front row, but with the lottery, who knows where i will be.

I'm torn - I loved feeling like I had him all to myself but I'm proud of & happy for him. He deserves props up the yang I'll just have to sleep outside for decent seats

Loved the smaller venues, gonna miss those (NOT happy about the Bay Area show being in whack ass San Jose)

He's a Fu%K*n& Fox and I've been getting Wild thanks to him for Years..He Deserves being Recognized cause He's Sex and he's the Best Musician out there!I Love His Music and Him I Adore. I want Everything Good for Him..He's Juicy...I Love him for his INSPIRATION...MY M :- ENTOR!

stray said:

True true! I think there are a lot more closet Prince fans than any of us realize. When they play "Kiss" at a club or something, people get down! And it seems like every time he does something these days, there are a ton of reporters there to cover it! Hopefully "Musicology" doesn't wind up bottoming out!

i guess i thot prince had already hit legend status long ago & questions like these were irrelevant...

It's hard to think of Prince as a "nostalgia act" when he's cooler than a lot of the younger artists out there. It took one great Grammy performance to put him back in the public eye, but most of us know he's been doing that for years, even when the public and the mainstream media weren't paying attention to him.
Like the hoopla surrounding Carlos Santana and Supernatural, this resurgence in Prince's popularity will cool down. If Musicology is a hit, and is nominated for Grammy's next year, Prince could ride this wave well into next year. The fairweather fans will eventually move on to something else, but whether 10 people are watching him or 10,000, Prince will keep on being the brilliant musician that he is.

At the end of the day the people who were into Prince before the recent Grammys know who they are they will be the ones that are still there when the hype dies off.
Its actually no different for me I have'nt a single thing more about Prince than i did B4 the awards shows etc but I do live in the North East of England and I think Prince is to camp for these guys round here.

Well, I was just thinking...if he becomes really really popular all over, then every city will be like Los Angeles, with the entire floor seats taken up with club members. You'll have completely lost the advantage of getting to buy club tickets if there's so many members in your city that you get row 25...

Ye but Batdance If staying unpopular means releasing substandard is it worth it.
I have my real doubts that he will become popular as such,he didnt seem to become all that popular when he released The Gold Experience and that featured two big radio hits so I cant see shit changes that much now.I wouldnt stress about it as I have come to realise there aint anything you can do about it.

I couldn't care less if the masses consider him a 'big star' or not. I know he is. But what I do want and hope for from this flurry of media interest is.....CD in the shops.....single getting lots of air play.....video in rotation on the tv.....

I dont think thats too much to ask! oh yeah and I want him to save a little bit of energy for touring the UK at some point.