This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
Today, the world was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of pop superstar Prince, who has passed away at his home in suburban Minneapolis. With heavy hearts, we’ve rounded up five of our favorite Prince moments in memory of the man who will go down in history as a music legend, social trailblazer and all-around ’80s icon.
1. His 2007 Super Bowl performance
At the 2007 Super bowl in Miami, Prince braved a torrential Florida downpour to deliver a show-stopping performance including his signature hit “Purple Rain,” which is regularly ranked among the best songs in music history. He was incredible, of course, and the show quickly went down as one of the best half-time performances in history.
“No one is cooler than Prince. It’s a scientific fact,” Rolling Stone reported after the show. We have to agree.
2. His surprise appearance on New Girl
Seven years after doing the halftime show in Miami, Prince returned to the Super Bowl spotlight. He appeared as himself in an episode of New Girl during the Super Bowl Sunday’s highly coveted post-game slot, the StarTribune reported.
“He’s a cultural icon,” Zooey Deschanel, who stars as Jess in New Girl, told the StarTribune after working with him.
“I heard he had a really good sense of humor and he really does. He was wonderful, incredibly open, sweet and charming,” said Hannah Simone, who plays Jess’ friend Cece.
3. When he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol
In 1993, Prince changed his stage name to the symbol on the front of his last album, which later became known as the “Love Symbol,” but had no actual pronunciation. After the name change, Prince was often called “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince,” or “The Artist,” for short. He returned to using the stage name “Prince” in 2000, Billboard reports. It is rumored that he did this to mess with his label, Warner Bros, whom he was unhappy with at the time. Not sure if we’d do it, but getting rid of your own name to prove a point is pretty badass.
4. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by none other than Alicia Keys. Her speech was testimony to the impact his originality and boldness had on the music industry.
“He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties,” reads the Hall’s dedication, according to the Advocate. “Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative.”
5. The final performance of “Purple Rain”
I can’t believe #prince has passed away. This literally was his last performance. RIP @prince pic.twitter.com/59AFDPCA0J
— Shawna Michaels (@ShawnaMichaels) April 21, 2016
Prince gave a concert in Atlanta last week and finished with a beautiful and haunting performance of “Purple Rain.”
“How fitting that ‘Purple Rain’ was the last song he ever performed,” Shawna Michaels, a fan who was at that concert, told People.