More than five years have passed since the world lost the beloved music legend Prince, and to this day, his legacy lives on through new posthumous music, tribute performances, and unbelievable stories told by celebrities like Dave Chappelle. Now, it appears that Prince has once again made headlines after a rare copy of his handwritten lyrics were auctioned off at an insane price.
According to TMZ, Prince’s handwritten lyrics to “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was recently covered by H.E.R. at the Emmys In Memoriam ceremony last fall, hit the auction block at Boston-based RR Auction. One person walked away with some pretty amazing music memorabilia, and another walked away with nearly $151,000.
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After paying $150,986 for the sheet of notebook paper adorned with Prince’s cursive handwriting and the white console marking tape he used to use to attach his lyrics to his mic while recording, the fan who was able to secure the rare artifact also reportedly received a letter of provenance from Prince’s former assistant, Therese Stoulil. According to TMZ, Stoulil explained how she originally came to possess Prince’s handwritten lyrics to “Nothing Compares 2 U,” saying, “There was a knock on my door, and I looked out the bedroom window and saw a black BMW in my driveway and immediately recognized it as Duane’s, Prince’s half-brother.”
“I went downstairs opened the door, and he only said ‘this is from Prince’ then he got in his car and left,” Stoulil continued. “Once I realized what Duane delivered, I was both stunned and humbled.”
The song was originally written and recorded for Prince’s 80s outfit The Family, but it actually received global acclaim after Sinead O’Connor famously covered it 1990.
Listen to Prince’s original studio version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was surprisingly just released in 2018, below.
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