A Headline Made Prince Furious — Prince Stormed Into Howard Stern’s Office and Found George Micheal D

The headline read, “George Michael, the only artist who ever outsold Prince.” Prince crumpled the newspaper, grabbed his keys, and drove straight to Howard Stern’s office. When he burst through the door, George Michael was sitting there. What happened in the next 47 minutes changed music history.

Los Angeles, Tuesday morning, March 2010, 8:34 a.m. Sunny, 72° Prince, 52, didn’t eat breakfast like most people. Fresh fruit, green tea. Silence. No TV, no phone, just music playing softly, usually jazz or classical. This morning, his assistant Maya brought him the daily papers. She did this every morning.

New York Times, LA Times, Rolling Stone when it was out. Prince flipped through casually, sipping tea, relaxed, then he saw it. Page six of the LA Times entertainment section. Headline: Howard Stern claims George Michael is the only artist who ever outsold Prince in the 80s, and Prince still can’t handle it.

Below the headline, a photo, George, Michael from the Faith era and Prince from Purple Rain side by side. Sub headline, Stern says rivalry defined the decade. Prince had talent, but George had the sales. Prince read the article. It was a transcript from yesterday’s Howard Stern show. Howard had been ranting. People worship Prince like he’s untouchable. But let’s be real.

George Michael’s Faith album destroyed Purple Rain in sales. 10 million copies in two years. Prince never hit those numbers with one album. George Michael is the king. Prince is just the guy in purple. The article continued with Howard mocking Prince’s height, his eccentricity, his over-the-top persona. Prince set the paper down.

His jaw was tight. hands clenched. Maya from across the room. Everything okay? Prince didn’t answer. Just stared at the headline. Then he stood, walked to his closet, put on a black suit, purple tie, sunglasses. Maya, where are you going? New York. What? You have a session at 200 p.m. Cancel it.

Prince, what’s going on? He held up the newspaper. Howard Stern just made this personal. 9:47 a.m. Prince was on a private flight to New York. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going except Maya. No publicist, no manager, just him. The flight was 5 hours. He spent the entire time rereading the article, getting angrier.

Not because Howard said George outsold him, that was factually debatable, but because Howard turned art into a competition, turned two artists into enemies. Prince knew George Michael not well. They’d met a few times at award shows, exchanged pleasantries, mutual respect. Never close friends, but never rivals either.

Now Howard was creating a narrative that didn’t exist, fabricating a feud for entertainment value. Prince thought about all the young artists who would read that article, who would believe that music was about outselling each other, about being better than instead of alongside. That’s what made him furious, not the insult to himself, the insult to music.

Meanwhile, though Prince didn’t know this, George Michael was having the exact same morning. George had seen the same article in London at [clears throat] his home. He’d read Howard’s words. George had the sales. As if sales were the measure of art. As if 10 million copies meant more than 10,000 hearts changed.

George booked a flight to New York. Didn’t tell his team, just went. He needed to tell Howard to stop using him as a weapon against other artists. Both men on separate flights, same destination, same anger, same mission, neither knowing the other was coming. 3:52 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Prince arrived at SiriusXM Studios, New York City.

Howard Stern’s show broadcast from here. The show was live 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. weekdays. It was now afternoon. Howard was likely in his office post show. Prince walked into the building. No appointment. No warning. Receptionist. Can I help you? I’m here to see Howard Stern. Do you have an appointment? No, but he’ll see me.

I’m sorry. Mr. Stern doesn’t take walk-ins. if you’d like to schedule. Prince removed his sunglasses. Tell him Prince is here. The receptionist’s face. System malfunction. Prince like the prince? Yeah. She picked up the phone, dialed Howard’s office, whispered frantically, hung up. He’ll he’ll see you. Third floor, office 3004.

4:07 p.m. Prince took the elevator to the third floor, walked down the hallway. The walls were covered with photos. Howard with celebrities, comedians, musicians. Prince reached office 304. The door was slightly open. He pushed it inside. Howard Stern, 56, shock jock legend, sat behind his desk, but he wasn’t alone.

Sitting in the chair across from Howard, George Michael, 47, looking tired but composed. Prince stopped in the doorway. George turned, saw Prince, his face complete shock. Howard grinning. Well, well, well. This just got interesting. Prince to George. What are you doing here? George, I’m doing an interview for my new documentary.

What are you doing here? Prince held up the newspaper. He’d brought it with him. This? He threw it on Howard’s desk. Howard picked it up, read the headline, grinned wider. Oh, that. Yeah, I may have said some things yesterday. Prince, you pitted us against each other for ratings. I stated facts. George outsold you.

It’s not personal, Prince. It’s just numbers. George, standing up. Wait, what? You said what on your show? Howard? That you outsold Prince? Which you did? Faith was the biggest album of the 80s. George angry now. I never asked you to compare me to Prince. That’s disrespectful to both of us. Howard defensive. I’m just being honest.

Prince, cutting him off. You’re being a provocator. You make money by turning artists into enemies, and we’re done playing your game. George looked at Prince, then at Howard, then back at Prince. You came all the way from LA because of this? Yeah. Why? Because you don’t deserve to be used like this, and neither do I.

George sat back down, processing. Howard, why did you do this? Howard, less confident now. It’s entertainment. People want controversy. No, you think they want controversy. What they actually want is honesty. Prince to George. Did you know about the segment? No. I heard about it this morning.

That’s why I came here to tell Howard to stop. Prince nodded. Same. They looked at each other. A moment of recognition. Prince to Howard. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to issue a correction on air tomorrow, Howard. A correction about what? You’re going to say that comparing artists by sales numbers is reductive, that music isn’t a competition, and that you were wrong to pit George and me against each other. Howard laughed.

You’re serious, George. He’s serious, and so am I, Howard? And if I don’t, Prince calmly, then we walk out of here, hold a joint press conference, and explain to the world that Howard Stern profits by degrading artists. Your sponsors will love that. Silence. Howard knew Prince wasn’t bluffing. Fine, I’ll issue a correction, Prince.

Good, but that’s not enough. What else do you want? We want you to help us build something. Prince and George explained they wanted to open a music school in New York City for underprivileged kids. Free lessons, free instruments, no auditions, no talent requirements, just access, the name, the Faith and Purple School of Music.

Combining George’s Faith and Prince’s Purple Rain. Initial funding $2 million. Prince 1 million. George 1 million. Howard, what does this have to do with me? Prince, you’re going to promote it on your show every week for free. Why would I do that, George? Because you spent yesterday tearing us down for ratings.

Now you’re going to spend the next year building us up for redemption. Howard stared at them. Then unexpectedly he laughed. You guys are serious, Prince. Dead serious. Howard leaned back in his chair. Thought. Then okay, I’ll do it. But on one condition. What? You both come on my show together next week and we talk about the school.

No scripts, no PR nonsense, just real conversation. Prince looked at George. George looked at Prince. George Deal. Prince Deal. They shook Howard’s hand. March 15th, 2010. Prince and George on the Howard Stern Show. Live. The episode became the most listened to Stern episode in history. 4.7 million listeners. Howard opened.

Last week I screwed up. I pitted two legends against each other. For ratings, Prince came to my office. George was already there and instead of fighting each other, they united and they’re about to announce something incredible. Prince and George sitting side by side in the studio explained the school.

The phones lit up. Donations flooded in. By the end of the episode, $400,000 in additional donations from listeners. September 2010, the Faith and Purple School of Music opened. Location: Harlem, New York City. A renovated church, Prince and George bought it together. Capacity, 200 students. Staff, 12 full-time music teachers.

Opening day ceremony, Prince performed piano, acoustic. George performed vocals, guitar. Howard Stern hosted. Howard was crying on stage. His speech. I spent 30 years in this business thinking controversy creates connection. These two men taught me something better. Collaboration creates legacy. This school exists because I was an And they chose grace instead of revenge.

The crowd 1,200 people standing ovation. 2010 to 2016. The school thrived. 2400 students served zero tuition funded by Prince George and ongoing donations. 47% of graduates went on to music careers. College professional Prince visited quarterly. George visited monthly. Howard promoted it on his show every single week for 6 years.

April 21st, 2016. Prince Rogers Nelson died at Paisley Park, 57 years old. George was in London when he heard. He collapsed, flew to New York the next day, went straight to the school, sat at the piano in the main hall, the one Prince had donated, played for 3 hours, students gathered, silent, crying. George through tears.

He turned an insult into a school. That’s who Prince was. December 25th, 2016. George Michael died. 53 years old. Howard Stern was at home with his family when he heard. He didn’t speak for hours. The next day, he broadcast from the school. Relocated his entire show there for one episode. He was crying on air.

Two legends, both gone, within 8 months. But this school, this school will outlive all of us because they didn’t just build a building. They built proof that artists don’t have to compete, they can create. 2024, the school today, still operational, now called the Prince and George Michael School of Music, funded by both estates. Annual donations continue.

6,700 students served since 2010. Expanded to three locations, Harlem, Los Angeles, London. A plaque in the main hall. Founded 2010 by Prince Rogers Nelson and George Michael. Born from a rivalry that never existed, built on a friendship that changed everything. Howard Stern. I was wrong. They were right.

Music isn’t a competition. It’s a conversation. Prince, March 2010, 2023. Howard Stern was interviewed for a documentary about the school. What’s your biggest regret? Pitting Prince against George Michael, but it led to the school. Yeah, but I wish it hadn’t taken me being an to make it happen.

Do you still promote the school? Every week for 13 years, and I’ll do it until I retire. It’s the least I can do. What did Prince and George teach you? Long pause. Howard’s eyes watered. That the best revenge is building something beautiful. They could have destroyed me. Instead, they made me part of their legacy.

That’s grace I’ll never deserve but will never forget. One of the school’s first graduates, Aaliyah Thompson, now 26, is a professional pianist. She was interviewed in 2024. What did the school give you? Everything. I grew up in Harlem. My family couldn’t afford lessons. I’d never touched a piano. Then this school opened free. No auditions.

They just said, “Come learn.” I was 10 years old, shy, didn’t think I belonged anywhere near a piano. But the teachers, they didn’t care about talent. They cared about curiosity. I learned from teachers who’d studied at Giuliard. I played on instruments Prince and George donated. And when I graduated, they helped me get into Berkeley College of Music.

Now I perform. I teach. I give back. Because two men I never met believed that music shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a right. She paused. Prince died when I was 12. George died when I was 14. I never got to thank them. But I remember the day Prince visited. I was practicing in the main hall.

He walked in, sat down next to me at the piano, didn’t say who he was, just listened. Then he said, “You’re playing with your head. Try playing with your heart.” He showed me how to feel the music instead of just reading it. 15 minutes, that’s all. Then he left. I didn’t realize until later it was Prince. By then he was gone.

But every time I sit at a piano, every time I teach a student, I’m thanking them because they didn’t just give me an education. They gave me a future. and they did it because Howard Stern tried to make them enemies, but they chose to be brothers instead. The interviewer asked one more question.

What would you say to Prince and George if you could? Aaliyah smiled through tears. Thank you for proving that legends don’t have to tear each other down to stay legendary. You showed us that the best response to provocation isn’t anger, it’s creation. You built us a home and we’re going to keep building it for the next generation.

The school still there, still teaching, still healing. Because two legends refused to fight. And one provocator learned that the best stories aren’t about conflict. They’re about collaboration. Music isn’t a competition. It’s a conversation. And that conversation never ends.