Prince, the American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, talks about fellow performer Michael Jackson

Prince, who has released several hundred songs both under his own name and with other artists, opens up about the death of fellow performer Michael Jackson.

Prince and Michael Jackson

Prince, who collaborated with Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie for his “Little Red Corvette” video, speaks in his interview about Michael Jackson’s performances, Michael Jackson as an artist, and his thoughts on Michael Jackson’s sudden death.

When Prince was questioned about his years of cultivating the art of surprise concerts in extraordinary locations, Prince revealed, “I now prefer this format above the traditional tour, it tempts me more. I like being the first and the last to do something. When I played in London in 2007, the O ² Arena, I asked the producers what had been the record number of shows played consecutely in their venue. They said six. I said that I wanted to do twenty-one. During two weeks they refused me, nobody had ever played for so long. All concerts were nevertheless sold out. Since then, Michael Jackson showed me that I should go farther (Michael Jackson had planned to fifty concerts in this venue for what should be his big comeback).”

When Prince was asked if his performance of the Jackson 5 Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) at his concert at the Grand Palais was a tribute, he replied, “My singer Elisa has the same timbre as Michael when he was young. And a good song is a good song.” The mood changed when Prince was questioned about his feelings on the death of Michael Jackson, “(Prince, obviously reluctant, does not want to dwell on the subject.) It is always sad to lose someone you loved.”

Michael Jackson References Prince

Oddly enough, while interviewing Randy Phillips, president of the concert promotion firm AEG Live, Entertainment Weekly got wind of Micheal Jackson’s creative ambitions, which included recreating Victoria Falls in southern Africa, one of the world’s largest waterfalls, on stage.

With the budget already surpassing $24 million, Randy Phillips said, “I was ready to jump off the balcony of my office. We went and met with Michael, and [director] Kenny [Ortega] said, ‘Michael, you’ve got to stop. We’ve got an incredible show, we don’t need any more vignettes.’ Michael said, ‘But Kenny, God channels this through me at night. I can’t sleep because I’m so supercharged.’ Kenny said, ‘But Michael, we have to finish. Can’t God take a vacation?’ Without missing a beat, Michael said, ‘You don’t understand — if I’m not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince.’ ”