--- title: Prince Dead: Obama Praises Performer as 'Creative Icon' description: President Barack Obama called Prince a "creative icon" and an "electrifying performer" after the legendary musician died Thursday canonical: https://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-21T21:45:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:57:14.190Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Praises Prince as a 'Creative Icon' og:description: "Nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative" og:url: https://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9574bc281410fd77/6988903b0a4a22af079c95dc/prince-musician-dead-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3712 og:image:height: 2088 og:image:alt: Prince Dead TIMEHP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Praises Prince as a 'Creative Icon' twitter:description: "Nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9574bc281410fd77/6988903b0a4a22af079c95dc/prince-musician-dead-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Praises Prince as a 'Creative Icon' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 21, 2016 9:45 PM UTC  Prince performs during his "Welcome 2 America" tour at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 7, 2011 in New York. Prince performs during his "Welcome 2 America" tour at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 7, 2011 in New York. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 21, 2016 9:45 PM UTC President Barack Obama called Prince a “creative icon” and an “electrifying performer” after the [legendary musician died Thursday](http://time.com/4303558/prince-dead-paisley-park-57/?1&xid=homepage) at his [Paisley Park](http://time.com/4303574/paisley-park-prince-studios/) estate in Minnesota at the age of 57. “Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent,” Obama said in a [statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/21/statement-president-passing-prince). “As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer.” **Read more:** [Prince Tribute: Why He Was the Great Purple Genius of Paisley Park](http://time.com/4303566/prince-dead-paisley-park-obituary/?xid=homepage) [Prince performed with Stevie Wonder at the White House](http://time.com/3921658/barack-obama-prince-stevie-wonder/) last year during a private party hosted by the President and First Lady. The party was not an official presidential event, but guests still took to social media to praise the “unbelievable experience” of seeing Prince and Wonder perform together. “‘A strong spirit transcends rules,’” Prince once said — and nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative,” Obama said on Thursday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band, and all who loved him.‎” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/"},"headline":"President Obama Praises Prince as a 'Creative Icon'","datePublished":"2016-04-21T21:45:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:57:14.190Z","description":"\"Nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative\"","url":"https://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/","keywords":["White House","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9574bc281410fd77/6988903b0a4a22af079c95dc/prince-musician-dead-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9574bc281410fd77/6988903b0a4a22af079c95dc/prince-musician-dead-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prince Dead TIMEHP","caption":"Prince Dead","creditText":"Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/","name":"President Obama Praises Prince as a 'Creative Icon'"}}]}] ```