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‘Saturday Night Live’ To Air ‘Good Night Sweet Prince’ Tribute After Singer’s Death

By Ernie Howell
Published on: 21:26 PST, Apr 22, 2016

Prince fans will have yet another method of paying tribute to the legendary artist thanks to Saturday Night Live. The show announced it will dedicate its entire broadcast this weekend in honor of Prince, Entertainment Weekly reported on Friday.

The decision was made on Friday after Prince was discovered on April 21 in his Minnesota home dead at the age of 57, CNN reported. Known for his eclectic style, Prince was a 1980’s sensation with hits “Purple Rain,” “When Doves Cry,” and “Raspberry Beret.”

Prince also had a long history of performing on Saturday Night Live. His last visit to the New York-based show was in 2014, joining SNL for an extended medley. That performance was an unprecedented one as Prince performed an eight minute set by mashing “Clouds,” “Marz,” and “Anotherlove” together as his only performance. Traditionally, the musical act has two appearances spaced throughout the show.

He also performed on SNL in 2006 and 1981, and Prince joined the show for the SNL anniversary special in 1989 to play “Electric Chair” from the Batman soundtrack. E! Online reported SNL fans can expect to see his first performance on the show, which aired on February 21, 1981. That episode featured Prince singing “Party Up.” When Prince finally returned 25 years later, the musician delighted the audiences with “Fury” and “Beautiful, Loved and Blessed.”

Television tributes to Prince aren’t exclusive to SNL. Earlier on Friday, Fox confirmed that the 2014 episode of New Girl featuring Prince would re-air on Tuesday, Entertainment Weekly also reported. The show features Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson) excited to meet the revolutionary artist while receiving some love advice from Prince to round out the episode.

Prince fans can also look at their local theaters to see if a special, limited return of Purple Rain is playing near them, Rolling Stones reported. The musical – a semi-biographical portrayal of the artist’s life – will air in more than 100 cinemas nationwide April 23 – 28, according to the article.

Fans have also remembered the Super Bowl XLI performance by Prince, a half-time show being hailed by some writers as one of the best ever. The Prince performance included “We Will Rock You,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Baby I’m a Star,” “Proud Mary,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Best of You,” and “Purple Rain.”

Most recently, SNL paid tribute to another singer who passed away earlier this year when the show remembered artist David Bowe, MTV News reported. Former SNL cast member Fred Armisen returned for the tribute, explaining how important David Bowe had been in his life. “David Bowie transformed whatever space he was in, whatever medium he was using, and that night for me, he transformed live television,” Fred Armisen told the SNL audience before playing a clip of the singer’s performance that night.

The show has produced several special editions, mostly for former SNL cast members. Other SNL tributes – such as the passing of Prince could be viewed – were reserved for tragedies the entire world experienced like the Sandy Hook massacre or the terrorist attack in Paris last year.

Until “Good Night Sweet Prince,” fans of SNL have been glued to their sets for the satirical takes the show has during a presidential election cycle. Guest appearances from the candidates this year have yielded some of the funniest moments for SNL. Ranging from a Hillary Clinton appearance early last year to Donald Trump hosting the show in November – and getting down on his version of “Hotline Bling” – SNL has used the election to bolster their rating this season, the Inquisitr previously reported.

What do you think about Saturday Night Live dedicating an entire episode to Prince after his unexpected death? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images]

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