"Controversy" is a song by American musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, the lead single and title track to his 1981 album. The song addresses speculation about Prince at the time such as his sexuality, gender, religion, and racial background, and how he could not understand the curiosity surrounding him.

Background

The song has two main verses, a few choruses, with the title repeated throughout the track. Towards the middle he recites the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

in full, which fueled the fire for some to say the song was blasphemous. Toward the end is a repeating chant of "People call me rude / I wish we all were nude / I wish there was no black and white / I wish there were no rules." The song features a steady 4/4 drumbeat, synthesized bass,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, and

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. The song was backed with " When You Were Mine", from his previous album, ''

Dirty Mind ''Dirty Mind'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on October 8, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records and produced entirely by Prince at his home studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota e ...

''. On November 29, 1993, in support of ''

The Hits/The B-Sides ''The Hits/The B-Sides'' is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive three- disc set consisting of many of his hit single ...

'', "Controversy" was once again released in the UK as a single, this time as a two-disc EP containing several hits not on the collection. CD1 includes the edit of "Controversy", the

William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...

remix of " The Future", "

Glam Slam "Glam Slam" is a song by American musician Prince, and the second single from his 1988 album, ''Lovesexy''. The song has sexual overtones with a spiritual undertone and fits the ''Lovesexy'' theme of integrating God and sex. The song is complex mu ...

", and "D.M.S.R.". CD2 includes the edit of "Controversy", "

Anotherloverholenyohead "Anotherloverholenyohead" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album ''Parade'', the soundtrack to the film ''Under the Cherry Moon''. The song is essentially a full band performance by Prince & the Revolution, with backing vocal ...

", "

Paisley Park Paisley Park Records was an American record label founded by musician Prince in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. T ...

", and "

New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

(Part II)". Like the "

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" single, CD1 was a special foldout package with a placeholder for CD2, which was sold separately. "Controversy" was also released on a 7-inch

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

. It reached number five on the UK charts in December 1993. "Controversy" is considered Prince's breakthrough hit in Australia, where it peaked at number 15. In the US, "Controversy" peaked at number three on the Soul Singles chart and number 70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also, along with the track, "Let's Work", "Controversy" was the first of seven number ones on the dance chart for Prince.

Live in Hawaii

"Controversy (Live in Hawaii)" is a

digital single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

made available for sale on

's website on March 29, 2004. The single consists of a live performance of the song: "Controversy", recorded on tour in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in 2003. The track also saw a limited release as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

, only available as part of a ''Prince in Hawaii Gift Box'', available from Prince's retail outlet.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Controversy (Song) 1981 singles 1981 songs 1993 singles 2004 singles Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers Prince (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs written by Prince (musician) Warner Records singles