Neilson Barnard/Getty Images For Prada, AKM-GSI Prince influenced scores of fans and fellow music artists, including Kesha, who said she once snuck into his home and tried to give him her demo before she found fame.
The world renowned pop artist was pronounced dead at age 57 at his Paisley Park studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota Thursday after being found unresponsive in an elevator. Authorities are investigating the cause of his death, which stunned scores of fans, including celebs such as Kesha. The fellow pop star wrote on Instagram, "What a magnificent life. Thoughts and prayers to his family and fans around the world. sometimes words just aren't enough..."
She had recalled her past attempt to reach Prince at his home in several press interviews, including an appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014. The singer never responded publicly to her remarks.
"It was so easy," Kesha told Jimmy Fallon.
She told the U.K. newspaper The Guardian that the incident took place on a Tuesday at 3 p.m. She drove to Prince's house, which was guarded by a security gate.
"I like cruised up in my dead grandpa's car and I get out of the car," Kesha told Fallon. "And there's a gardener in the front yard and I was like, 'Here, five bucks and just don't make a thing and I'm just gonna slide right under this gate.' And he just laughed and thought it was funny and I was, you know, charming at the time and so I snuck under the fence and then I just like, trolloped up the mountain."
"I knew that Prince would live on a mountain," Jimmy Fallon said. "That's so cool to know! In my dreams, that's where he lives."
"The door was open," Kesha continued. "It was unlocked. So I was like, 'It's basically an invitation,' so I walked in and everything was purple velvet, so I was like, very pleased that my fantasy had come true and there really was purple velvet everywhere."
One of Prince's nicknames was the "Purple One" and he saw much success with his 1984 single "Purple Rain," as well as an album and rock musical film of the same name.
"And I walk into the elevator and there's Prince music playing," Kesha continued. "And then I go up in the elevator and I come out and I'm on the phone with my mom being like, 'I think I might get arrested' and then I walk out and there's Prince, playing the guitar, with a beanie on and I almost pooped my pants."
"He just kind of looked at me funny," she said about the singer. "I didn't even get it out. I just like, got a look like, 'Who the hell are you?' and then I just like, waved around a CD and I like, put it on a table and then I ran away."
Kesha told The Guardian a security guard then threw her out.
"Prince was totally nice," she added. "He's short, yeah, but he's amazing."
Kesha told Fallon she never heard from the singer since the encounter.
"Not yet," she said.
"I just love him, he's my favorite," she added. "Call me."