Artistic Interpretation #6 / Prince Rogers Nelson (1993)

As it has been almost a year since we lost the iconic music legend, Prince Rogers Nelson, who passed away on the 21st April 2016, I wanted to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the iconic music legend by drawing for this sixth artistic interpretation.

This is the first Artistic Interpretation for 2017 and I wanted to make sure that Prince Rogers Nelson would be the first musician I would draw this year.

This drawing I’ve produced is inspired on the Greatest Hits album: “The Hits / The B-Sides” that Prince Rogers Nelson released back in 1993, as this Greatest Hits collection spans much of the music he released over the course of his career, given that he was the powerhouse and driving force that defined many generations and helped to inspire so many musicians, also because he was known for releasing so many albums that his back catalogue would be filled to maximum capacity.

Prince’s music defined himself as the iconic music legend he is, and even in death, his music will never grow old, will never become dated but will always remain timeless, as his music is eccentric and changes every time but changes so quickly that you cannot help but appreciate the iconic music legend himself for always being different and not making music that sounds the same.

Below is the completed artistic interpretation I have produced of Prince Rogers Nelson.

Prince Rogers Nelson

I’m really pleased with the end result of this artistic interpretation, because I wanted to make sure that this drawing would keep true to the iconic music legend himself. Prince left his mark not just on the music world, but on the entire world, as his music is the reason why so many of the musicians we hear of today are still not just releasing music, but are making the best difference and being the positive changes in this world.

His music has also given so many people around the world, including myself so much to be thankful for and his music, from my perspective, is a message of hope, and that hope can mean you can be yourself and be the positive change you want to see in this world and I feel that by drawing him, he has not only been a positive influence on me, but on all of us.

I want to say this as a way of paying tribute to Prince Rogers Nelson:

“Prince. Your music has been the Sign ‘O’ the Times, Purple Rain came down on us and delighted us and When Doves Cry, you were there to give us all hope and to make sure we were the positive changes this world needs. Your Little Red Corvette sits briskly in heaven and heaven gained an angel. Sometimes it Snows in April, then there is Purple Rain, but you gave us all hope and made us all feel okay to be ourselves, so thank you for everything, Prince Rogers Nelson.”

If you want to pay your respects to Prince Rogers Nelson almost a year after the iconic music legend departed from Planet Earth, then please leave a comment below in his memory.

Alex Smithson

ADELE | 25 | Special Music Feature

With her third album becoming the number one most pre-ordered album, with her album still remaining number one just after it was released, Adele has finally delighted us all with her much awaited album, 25, which is the first album in a while since she last released music. In just the space of the first week alone, Adele has officially broken the sales records in the US with 3.38 million in sales, with her ‘Hello’ video spanning over 500,000,000+ views, also with the sales record in the UK showing that a whopping 800,307 copies of Adele’s 25 album were sold in the first week alone, which also beats the 18-year long record that the former music group, Oasis, once held with their 1997 album: “Be Here Now”.

Before the album was announced, Adele sent the whole of Twitter into meltdown after premiering a 30-second advert of her comeback record: “Hello”, which aired while The X Factor was on an ad break. In theory, she kind of did a Beyoncé moment, because the advert was completely unexpected, but once I heard her voice, I thought: “Oh my god!!! It’s Adele!!! She’s finally back!!! At last!!!! Welcome back Adele, we missed you!!!”, which just goes to prove that none of us knew what type of new music was to come.

On the day of Adele’s 25 album release, I listened to Adele’s new album after it arrived through the post, and I must admit, I thought it was absolutely fantastic, because her voice has matured and she appears more and more relaxed now given that she spent a two-year long hiatus from the music industry altogether to focus on bringing up her son, Angelo, who she gave birth to on the 19th October 2012.

This new album brings with it a new kind of sound that is absolutely enjoyable and also happy, but also at the same time, absolutely heartwarming, because you can listen to Adele all day and never get tired of her music, because her music and her voice are timeless, and her music will never date, which just proves that if she has managed to get three albums out in her time, and have all three of them become chart-topping albums as well, including winning 2 Ivor Novello Awards, 10 Grammy Awards, 4 Brit Awards, 1 Academy Award, 1 Oscar Award and 1 Golden Globe Award, including many more other various awards, then that just indicates that a musician doesn’t have to prove themselves in order to have a big success, and Adele has sold 3 albums, 25 involved, with massive successes across the board without needing to prove herself to anyone, and that is why I love her music because she has the bubbly personality and a powerful voice that go well together with absolutely no problem at all.

Since the release of 25 on the 20th November, Adele’s album, at the end of the first week, became the Official Number 1 album on the Official Charts, as well as being Number 1 on iTunes.

Adele most recently said that she was inspired by Madonna’s 1998 album, Ray of Light, which was the main influential album that inspired her to write 25.

Below is the Official Album Artwork for Adele’s third album, 25:

© Official Album Cover – ADELE & XL Recordings 2015

Below are two of the latest music videos released by Adele from her 25 album: “Hello” and “When We Were Young“:

What do I think of the whole album overall? I absolutely love 25, because Adele has taken all of the much needed time to make this album, in order to produce the perfect sound possible. I love this album as well mainly because it is heartwarming, and 25 is completely open, as Adele has explored so many emotions from so many different perspectives and aspects, but the different kind of perspectives and aspects that we are all more familiar with.

The album is like a story, because it shows her mature from her 19 and 21 days into the 25 days, when she was at that age, even though she is now 27. Overall, I absolutely love the album, and I believe that Adele’s 25 album and her “Hello” video, including her live rendition of “When We Were Young” will certainly keep her album in the Top 10, the Top 20, the Top 50 and the Top 100.

Overall Rating for the Official “Hello” Music Video: 10/10

Overall Rating for the Official “When We Were Young” Music Video: 10/10

Overall Album Rating for 25: 10/10

Alex Smithson

© ADELE 2015

© XL Recordings 2015

© The Adele Logo, the 25 Album Logo, the Official 25 Album Artwork and the wide-scale Featured Image have all been used courtesy of the record labels and the artist. No Copyright Infringement Intended.