Last update: December 26, 2004 at 7:37 AM
Artist of the Year: Prince
December 26, 2004 AOTY1226

Whereas, he stole the show at the Grammy Awards in February with his opening performance (with pop-soul princess Beyoncé) that showed the world that, baby, he's still a star who matters.

Whereas, his medley to kick off the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in March had Mick Jagger, Yoko Ono, Kid Rock and a roomful of rock royalty dancing along to his still-vital-and-youthful-after-all-these-years performance.

Whereas, this new inductee blew away the Hall of Fame crowd for a second time with his expressively soaring guitar solo during an all-star band (Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and others) rendition of inductee George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

Whereas, his sold-out Musicology Tour became the year's biggest concert success -- both with critics and fans, drawing rave reviews and nearly 1.5 million fans to 99 concerts.

Whereas, he became the first artist to play three sold-out concerts at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center -- shows that were personal, playful and exciting, especially his special and spontaneous tributes to the recently departed Ray Charles.

Whereas, his "Musicology" CD was hailed by critics as his best album in years, and it became his top seller in more than a decade, spending most of the summer in Billboard's top 10.

Whereas, he landed on the cover of Rolling Stone a decade after people thought he was irrelevant.

Whereas, he showed a newfound maturity -- he even preached monogamy -- on "Music- ology" and returned to pointed political commentary, in song and in video, for the first time since the 1980s.

Whereas, he came up with the brilliant marketing strategy of handing out free copies of "Musicology" to every ticketholder at his concerts, thereby boosting his profit margin per CD, guaranteeing sales of tens of thousands a week and prompting Billboard magazine to rework its rules for tabulating its charts.

Whereas, his landmark 1984 movie "Purple Rain" was re-released on DVD (without his cooperation) and once again fans and critics sang "Purple" praises.

Whereas, he was recognized by his peers in the music industry with five Grammy nominations connected to "Musicology," the most Grammy citations for one project by a Minnesota artist.

Whereas, his comeback resulted in the most lucrative year in his career, with his tour grossing more than $90 million and his money from "Musicology" soaring because he shrewdly eliminated the middlemen -- CD retailers and distributors -- at his concerts.

Therefore, we, the Arts & Entertainment staff, proclaim Prince the Star Tribune's Artist of the Year for 2004.

-- Jon Bream

oh man...i love our lil home grown princey

violett said:

"home grown"...hehehe, makes 'im sound like weed or sumfin.

violett said:

"home grown"...hehehe, makes 'im sound like weed or sumfin.

oh man...i love our lil home grown princey

I hope the ones always bitching about prince getting OLD & going downhill will eat crow! He showed u all. He can do it!!! Do what I wanna do....emancipation!!! FREE!