Music

Feature

New Prince album to be released this year

Get ready for the return of 'The Purple One'.


New Prince album ‘Welcome 2 America’ is on the way 💿

There’s some great news for Prince fans and for fans of music in general, with confirmation that there’s a new Prince album on the way. The Prince estate have announced the first release of new original music since the icon’s untimely death in 2016. The politically charged album ‘Welcome 2 America’ is set for a July 30 release and features 12 previously unheard tracks. And, although Prince’s latest offering was recorded over a decade ago at Paisely Park Studio, the talk from his former collaborators is, that the release is “right on time”. This will be the third posthumous release in Prince’s catalogue after 2018’s ‘Piano and a Microphone 1983’ and ‘Originals’, both of which comprised of studio demo’s.

Prince – Welcome 2 America | Pre-Order Now (Available 7.30.21)

Check out the title track ‘Welcome 2 America’ below.

Prince – Welcome 2 America

Track listing

  1.    Welcome 2 America
  2.    Running Game (Son of a Slave Master)
  3.    Born 2 Die
  4.    1000 Light Years From Here
  5.    Hot Summer
  6.    Stand Up and B Strong *
  7.    Check The Record
  8.    Same Page, Different Book
  9.    When She Comes
  10.    1010 (Rin Tin Tin)
  11.    Yes
  12.    One Day We Will All B Free

Prince in Ireland ☘

Prince has a long history with Ireland and has performed here on numerous occasions throughout the years. His Irish debut came at a packed Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork in July 1990 when Prince brought some purple to a stadium that was so used to seeing red. Next, he brought his talents to the capital in 1992 with a show at the RDS, where he performed a world premiere of ‘Sexy Motherf*****’ and featured Andrew Strong (star of ‘The Commitments‘ film) as one of the opening acts.

He returned to Dublin in 1995 with a date at The Point (now the 3Arena) followed by an after show gig at The Pod where Bono opened the show with a rendition of Prince’s song ‘The Cross’. He was back at The Point yet again in 2002 and continued tradition by following that sold-out performance with yet another after show gig, this time at Spirit nightclub (now The Academy).

Irish fans last memory of Prince will be of his show-stopping, Summer 2011 performance at Dublin’s Malahide Castle. With the passing of the singer coming a mere 5 years later, that concert has become something of an ‘I was there’ moment for all who were in attendance. The star said on stage that night “I can’t stop (performing), I got too many hits”, the people who were there that day now wish he never did.

Check out RTE RADIO 1’s podcast ‘Prince At The Castle’ which documents the happening’s in Malahide that day.

Prince Facts

Who was Prince?

Born Prince Rogers Nelson, Prince was a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, producer, actor, and director. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation.

What genre was Prince?

Known as one of the most innovative act’s of all time, Prince was seen as a genre bending artist. He experimented with R&B, pop, rock, Latin, country, jazz new wave, classical, soul, psychedelia , jazz, industrial, hip hop and spoken word.

How many awards has Prince won?

During his career, Prince picked up 7 Grammy’s, 7 Brit Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 1 Academy Award and, 1 Golden Globe.

How many albums does Prince have?

Prince has a total of 39 albums in his catalogue and in addition has sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Fun fact…

Prince wrote and composed the song ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, the song Sinead O’Connor would go on to have a smash hit with.


The new Prince album ‘Welcome 2 America’ is set for release on 30 July 2021.

Related: Great guitarists playing in Ireland