James Corden dashed back into ‘The Late Late Show’ studio to record a tribute to Prince for broadcast at the start of his show last night (21.04.16).
The 37-year-old presenter had already finished filming for his show with his guest stars from ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ – Jessica Chastain, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron – when he heard the iconic singer had died at his Paisley Park estate, Minnesota, aged 57.
And James admitted it wouldn’t have been "right" for him not to pay tribute to the "completely original" singer.
James told viewers: "It didn’t feel right to me to start an entertainment show without coming back down here and turning the lights on and saying something about him before we begin.
"I don’t even know where to start when I talk about Prince as an artist, because to be unique in this world is impossible. Like almost all art is taken or borrowed from somewhere else, and artist like Prince stands alone. He is completely original."
The British presenter recalled how he had seen the ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ singer live many times and feels "lucky" to have lived at the same time as Prince.
He said: "I will always cherish the fact that I got to be in his audience, just to be in his orbit for just those few nights. What a thing to have been alive when Prince was making music. We are all incredibly lucky … "
He then ended his tribute by quoting lyrics from Prince’s 1986 hit ‘Sometimes it Snows in April’.
He said: "Sometimes I wish life was never-ending, but all good things they say, never last."
Meanwhile Stephen Colbert, who presents ‘The Late Show’, addressed Prince’s death during his show monologue, declaring he had been a fan since high school, while lights on the set were changed to purple as a "gesture of respect".
Tom Hanks was one of the guests on the programme, and also took the time to praise Prince.
He said: "It’s not often that you watch TV and you think, ‘this is a brand new thing.’ Because he was really funky in the late ’70s … He took it and elevated it. That was just the beginning of decades. Now he’s gone and God bless him. We’re going to miss him."
And Trevor Noah, presenter of ‘The Daily Show’ opted to save his Prince tribute for the end of his show in his Moment of Zen segment.
He concluded: "Today, as you all know, we lost more than just a man. We lost an icon. We lost a leader. We lost in many aspects a genre in itself. Prince, we’ll always remember. We will always love you. Your music changed our lives and I think it will continue to do that. Today we would like to dedicate our Zen to you."
The programme then aired Prince performing an acoustic version of ‘Reflection’ from ‘MTV Unplugged’.
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