Felt pressure from fans to keep churning out hits? Looking back over the years I think sometimes the Org was a bit unfair to him I mean what he put out was never enough for us and some orgers let him know that daily U think he felt the pressure of being the last great musician we had and maybe that contributed to all this somehow? Be honest Or do you think he just took it all as it came?

I think it may stem from this. I think not only Prince, but a lot of artists must have felt pressure from their fans to continue doing this, and trying to please everyone probably contributed to how many artists feel/felt from time to time.

journalism16 said:

I think it may stem from this. I think not only Prince, but a lot of artists must have felt pressure from their fans to continue doing this, and trying to please everyone probably contributed to how many artists feel/felt from time to time.

I think so too...sometimes some of the comments on here were relentless and to think he saw all that. I know some of it had to stick with him

I've been thinking alot about this too.. I think Prince felt alot of pressures.. Money was one.. money coming in to keep PP running etc and he was ageing and probably suffered ailments that most 55-60 year olds suffer and I think he enjoyed Touring more so that creating a record but again was getting tired and worn out.. so I think the pressure to keep going is what lead to this problem..

nursev said:

Felt pressure from fans to keep churning out hits? Looking back over the years I think sometimes the Org was a bit unfair to him I mean what he put out was never enough for us and some orgers let him know that daily U think he felt the pressure of being the last great musician we had and maybe that contributed to all this somehow? Be honest Or do you think he just took it all as it came?

Nursev, you know darned well that whenever an album was put out, folks would be..... "when is he putting out the next album" ........... every time, and you know it.

As Prince sang in his song, Don't Play Me, "My only competition is, well, me in the past..."

I definitely agree with anangellooksdown, because on so many levels, artists do this out of love and obligation to all of us, but on the other hand, I also think that we ask so much of these artists that we may not realize that we put more pressure on them, than they put on themselves, because we want so much from them, such as, albums, tours, fragrances, books, and the like, that we don't realize what we are asking of them; until it is too late. But I think that we have to let these artists do what they love and continue to entertain us, without expecting too much. With that being said, all of the artists that I love, deceased or living, did/do what they love because they receive so much love from us...their fans. But it does beg the question, are we giving as much love and adoration back to them as they give to us, and how much pressure are we putting on these artists by asking them to give us what we want?

I remember Prince was mocked and disrespected a lot over even his Afro hair, his clothes, his shoes, his recent albums, lack of hits, the 3rd Eye Girl band, and even his manhood was mocked. And he was constently dissed by Michael Jackson fans "Prince vs" arguments. I think a lot of people feel bad and guilty about all of that now. I stopped posted on the org for a long time because of all of the negativity that was going on.

I'm sure Prince felt underappreated and disappointed in a lot of people but that didn't stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do instead of doing a Purple Rain II kind of album and a Revolution reunion tour for hits, fame and fortune. Prince refused to do that, he always wanted to do something different (Around the World in a Day, etc. are proof of that) and he wasn't all about the money and hits and fame (remember he turned down being a part of the "We Are the World" song and video and the "Bad" song and video) and choosing to do his own thing, his own way. The Anka/Sinatra
song "My Way" suited Prince. He was very misunderstood by the masses.

rudeboynpg said:

I remember Prince was mocked and disrespected a lot over even his Afro hair, his clothes, his shoes, his recent albums, lack of hits, the 3rd Eye Girl band, and even his manhood was mocked. And he was constently dissed by Michael Jackson fans "Prince vs" arguments. I think a lot of people feel bad and guilty about all of that now. I stopped posted on the org for a long time because of all of the negativity that was going on.

I'm sure Prince felt underappreated and disappointed in a lot of people but that didn't stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do instead of doing a Purple Rain II kind of album and a Revolution reunion tour for hits, fame and fortune. Prince refused to do that, he always wanted to do something different (Around the World in a Day, etc. are proof of that) and he wasn't all about the money and hits and fame (remember he turned down being a part of the "We Are the World" song and video and the "Bad" song and video) and choosing to do his own thing, his own way. The Anka/Sinatra
song "My Way" suited Prince. He was very misunderstood by the masses.

Nice to see you posting, wb

Thank you.

When Prince made good music, I said so. When Prince made crap music, I said so, too. Do I think he felt pressured to keep churning out hits? Hell no, I do not. Because Prince put out whatever the hell he wanted and whether we liked it or not was not his concern because there was always more than enough of us willing to pay for it, regardless.

Prince did what HE wanted to do eventually and heaven help the person, place, or thing that tried to convince him otherwise. He wanted to stay on top forever.

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[Edited 1/24/17 14:11pm]

I think it was a combination of Prince seeking approval from his fans, and from the rest of the world (to varying degrees over the course of his career); and an insatiable need in him to out do himself. I've heard him shout out and ask the audience on a few live shows (from the latter part of his career) "are we the best?" It always sounds to me like he is looking for approval from the audience and also trying to make them happy, but at the same time it's kind of like he is acknowledging his status to himself. I know it's cliched but insecurities relating to his childhood could have been the motivating factor for him working so hard.

I think that it is natural with an untimely, sudden death like his to question what may have provoked it but I don't think that the desire of fans was his sole driving force and that fans are to blame for what has sadly occured. Ultimately Prince did what he wanted to do.

He mentioned in a French interview that he was always trying to 'outdo the previous show". This lead to assuming there was a pressure to do so.

Be patient, I’ll get to the subject of this thread. I’ve been thinking and missing Prince and I often wonder how he did it, how he created music from a thought to a masterpiece, how he worked with such urgency and patient perfection. I actually feel a little selfish. I did nothing and he did everything, I sat, listened, criticized, analyzed, judged, praised, showed up and he provided the blood sweat a tears. He has said it was his purpose and I believe that, but he paid a much higher price than I did. Now that he’s gone, I never thanked him. I could never repay what he gave to me. And maybe that’s why I feel bad. We really are missing the point, we are moving so fast we are missing life. We do think we have time and we don’t. Its like he knew he only had the time he had and it would be over, so he didn’t waste it. We can all learn that lesson

I think he had lots of pressure from other things in life, but writing popular songs (or hits) wasnt one of them.

Otherwise he would never have released most of the albums release this mellinium.

ldmendes said:

callimnate said:

I think he had lots of pressure from other things in life, but writing popular songs (or hits) wasnt one of them.

Otherwise he would never have released most of the albums release this mellinium.

Well, he wasn't the last greatest musician, we still got Stevie Wonder.

I don't think he felt pressure to have hits, but he felt pressure to put out music that he liked. I believe that he was a perfectionist and if he didn't like it, it was no go.

No way did this site, or any other message board influence the way he worked or lived. To think so is absurd.

I don't think he felt the pressure to create "hits". I mean, with the way the industry kept shifting, it was easy to see that "hit" didn't mean "great".

I think Prince had a drive to just Create! Stronger than anyone I've ever seen.

I know how much he loved us, but I think it was bigger than the fans. I truly believe Prince came here on a mission from God, to show us all what is possible. And boy did he!

purplethunder3121 said:

ldmendes said:

ALL THE YESES TO THIS.

I do think tho that we've been removed from the human cost of perfection ....so many have an armchair view and we need to get out and be participatory in person.

We do not have time. Its imperative to be who u know you are, anyway you can.

There may not be a tomorrrow. We just don't know.

nursev said:

journalism16 said:

I think it may stem from this. I think not only Prince, but a lot of artists must have felt pressure from their fans to continue doing this, and trying to please everyone probably contributed to how many artists feel/felt from time to time.

I think so too...sometimes some of the comments on here were relentless and to think he saw all that. I know some of it had to stick with him

yeah. it makes me want to cry, knowing he read some of the heartless crap on here

Prince made music for himself. HE WAS DRIVEN. Spiritually and personally. Yes, he shared it with

all of us and yes, I think he enjoyed us enjoying it, but the bottom line is that any pressure he felt, it came from within - to out do himself. IMHO Peace, love and healing.

nursev said:

Felt pressure from fans to keep churning out hits? Looking back over the years I think sometimes the Org was a bit unfair to him I mean what he put out was never enough for us and some orgers let him know that daily U think he felt the pressure of being the last great musician we had and maybe that contributed to all this somehow? Be honest Or do you think he just took it all as it came?

Oh noooo...Goodness no! Prince had an endless supply of music and creativity pouring into his psyche constantly. So there was NEVER any pressure. I think he should have released an album every other year (like Warner Bros. suggested) but I read somewhere that he wanted fans to hear the music as soon as it came through to him. As far as his touring/performing I feel he should have cut down on so much of the acrobatic stuff (jumping off rafters, splits ect.) as that would have not put so much wear and tear on his body.