✦ Originals - Album: Jun.2019

Prince’s own versions of the songs he gave away — a behind‑the‑scenes look at his mid‑’80s creative empire

✦ SUMMARY

Announced by The Prince Estate on April 25, 2019, Originals is a fifteen‑track album featuring fourteen previously unreleased recordings that reveal Prince’s behind‑the‑scenes role in shaping the careers of the artists he mentored. The collection showcases Prince’s original versions of songs he wrote for others, many of which became major hits. The tracks were selected collaboratively by Troy Carter on behalf of The Prince Estate and JAY‑Z. The material primarily comes from Prince’s mid‑1980s imperial phase, when he was simultaneously releasing his own chart‑dominating albums while writing and producing for The Time, Sheila E., Jill Jones, Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, Mazarati, The Family, and others. Some of these demos were used as master takes with only minor alterations, while others served as detailed blueprints for the artists who recorded them. Warner Records released Originals physically on June 21, 2019, in multiple formats including CD, 180‑gram vinyl, and a deluxe 2LP purple vinyl + CD edition. The album streamed exclusively on TIDAL from June 7–20, 2019 before becoming available on all platforms.

✦ HIGHLIGHTS

• Announced April 25, 2019

• Released June 21, 2019 (physical + streaming)

• 15 tracks, 14 previously unreleased

• Features Prince’s original versions of songs he gave to other artists

• Curated by Troy Carter and JAY‑Z

• Includes early versions of Manic Monday, The Glamorous Life, Love… Thy Will Be Done, Nothing Compares 2 U

• Exclusive TIDAL window June 7–20, 2019

• Released by Warner Records in partnership with The Prince Estate and TIDAL

✦ TRACK DETAILS

Tracklist (standard album):

• Sex Shooter

• Jungle Love

• Manic Monday

• Noon Rendezvous

• Make‑Up

• 100 MPH

• You’re My Love

• Holly Rock

• Baby, You’re a Trip

• The Glamorous Life

• Gigolos Get Lonely Too

• Love… Thy Will Be Done

• Dear Michaelangelo

• Wouldn’t You Love to Love Me?

• Nothing Compares 2 U (1984 version)

All tracks written, produced, arranged and performed by Prince.

✦ CHART PERFORMANCE

United States

• Billboard Top R&B/Hip‑Hop Albums: Top 20

• Billboard 200: Charted

United Kingdom

• Top 40 album chart entry

Additional chart data varies by region.

✦ SOURCES

The Prince Estate announcements

Warner Records release notes

TIDAL exclusivity documentation

Discogs

Press coverage and archival references

Prince — Originals (2019) sits within the posthumous archival series alongside:

Piano & A Microphone 1983 (2018)

Anthology: 1995–2010 (2018)

1999 Super Deluxe Edition (2019)

The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold) (2019)

Emancipation Reissue (2019)

Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe (2020)

✦ PRINCE ERA MINI‑TIMELINE

1984 — Prince writes and records demos for The Bangles, Sheila E., The Family, and others

1985 — Side‑project material expands; Prince produces Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, Jill Jones

1986 — Prince’s studio output peaks; many Originals tracks created

1987 — Prince shifts toward Sign O’ The Times era, vaulting earlier material

2018–2019 — The Prince Estate begins releasing curated Vault projects

✦ GLAM FLASHBACK

Originals reveals the architecture behind Prince’s mid‑’80s dominance. While albums like Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, and Parade defined his public persona, these demos show the parallel universe he was building for his protégés. Songs like Manic Monday and The Glamorous Life demonstrate how Prince could tailor material to an artist’s personality while retaining his unmistakable musical DNA. The album reframes the era not just as Prince’s rise, but as the expansion of an entire creative ecosystem powered by his songwriting.

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The Prince Estate announced on April 25, 2019 the release of a new Prince album, Originals.

The fifteen-track album featured 14 previously unreleased recordings that explores the behind-the-scenes role Prince played in other artist’s careers. Basically, it’s his versions of the hits he penned for other turns. The tracks were selected collaboratively by Troy Carter, on behalf of The Prince Estate, and JAY-Z.

Originals mostly hails from his mid-eighties imperial phase when he seemingly gave up on sleep to fire off songs for his proteges such as The Time, Sheila E, Jill Jones, Vanity 6 and Mazarati.

Among the better-known tunes are his demos of ‘Manic Monday’ (which he gave to The Bangles under the pseudonym Christopher); Sheila E’s ‘The Glamorous Life’, Martika’s ‘Love… Thy Will Be Done’ and The Family’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.

Occasionally, Prince’s original demo recordings would be used as master takes on their albums, with only minor alterations to the instrumentation and a replacement of the vocal tracks. Other times, artists would rely on his demos to guide them through their own recording process, with Prince’s initial take informing their final version of his song.

Warner Bros. Records released Originals physically as a deluxe 2LP purple vinyl + CD edition, a standard 2LP black vinyl and on CD on June 21, 2019.

Prince will forever be remembered as a commanding live performer, chart-topping recording artist, and music business revolutionary. Yet for all the time he spent in the spotlight over his four-decade-long career, Prince also worked tirelessly behind the scenes to nurture talent and pen songs for the rising artists he respected.

In June 2019, The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Records and TIDAL, released Originals, a 15-track album featuring 14 previously unreleased recordings that illuminate the vital, behind-the-scenes role Prince played in other artists' careers. The tracks were selected collaboratively by Troy Carter (on behalf of The Prince Estate) and Jay-Z.

Prince led the way, for artistic freedom, for ownership. He's one of the bravest people I can think of in the industry.”

Jay-Z

By the mid-1980s, Prince was dominating the charts even as a writer/producer with songs he’d composed and recorded for others. In addition to releasing nine of his most commercially successful full-length albums, he also wrote and recorded endless reels of material for proteges The Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E., Apollonia 6, Jill Jones, the Family, and Mazarati. Occasionally, Prince’s original demo recordings would be used as master takes on their albums, with only minor alterations to the instrumentation and a replacement of the vocal tracks. Other times, artists would rely on his demos to guide them through their own recording process, with Prince’s initial take informing their final version of his song. The aggregate effect was a complete saturation and transformation of the pop music landscape, with Prince both leading and subverting mainstream culture.

Several of the iconic songs found on Originals were considerable hits for the artists who recorded them. Sheila E.’s “The Glamorous Life” reached #1 on the dance charts in 1984, while the enormous success of “Manic Monday” propelled the single and its accompanying album, The Bangles’ Different Light, to the #2 spot on the pop charts. The Time’s Ice Cream Castle, featuring the Top 20 single “Jungle Love,” spent a whopping 57 weeks on the Billboard 200. And in 1991, Martika enjoyed international success with “Love… Thy Will Be Done,” a top 10 hit in France, Australia, the UK, and the USA.

Originals pulls back the curtain to reveal the origins of these familiar songs, in addition to deeper album cuts such as Vanity 6’s “Make-Up,” Jill Jones’s “Baby, You’re a Trip,” and Kenny Rogers’ “You’re My Love.” The album also features Prince’s majestic original 1984 version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released in 2018 as a standalone single.

Originals streamed exclusively on TIDAL from June 7-20, 2019, and was released by Warner Records on June 21, 2019, onto all streaming platforms and physically onto CD, 180 gram vinyl, and a limited edition Deluxe CD + 2LP set.

2LP purple vinyl + CD deluxe

2LP black vinyl

CD edition

Track Listing:

First Released by (Artist: Album – year) followed by the year of Prince’s recording included on Originals

1. Sex Shooter Apollonia 6: Apollonia 6 – 1984 / 1983

2. Jungle Love The Time: Ice Cream Castle – 1984 / 1983

3. Manic Monday The Bangles: Different Light – 1985 / 1984

4. Noon Rendezvous Sheila E.: The Glamorous Life – 1984 / 1984

5. Make-Up Vanity 6: Vanity 6 – 1982 / 1981

6. 100 MPH Mazarati: Mazarati – 1986 / 1984

7. You’re My Love Kenny Rogers: They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To – 1986 / 1982

8. Holly Rock Sheila E.: Krush Groove (OST) – 1985 / 1985

9. Baby, You’re a Trip Jill Jones: Jill Jones – 1987 / 1982

10. The Glamorous Life Sheila E.: The Glamorous Life – 1984 / 1983

11. Gigolos Get Lonely Too The Time: What Time Is It? – 1982 / 1982

12. Love… Thy Will Be Done Martika: Martika’s Kitchen – 1991 / 1991

13. Dear Michaelangelo Sheila E.: Romance 1600 – 1985 / 1985

14. Wouldn’t You Love to Love Me? Taja Sevelle: Taja Sevelle – 1987 / 1981

15. Nothing Compares 2 U The Family: The Family – 1985 / 1984