Controversy (song)

"Controversy" is a song by American musician Prince, 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.

"Controversy"
1981 UK 7-inch single
Single by Prince
from the album Controversy
B-side	1981: "When You Were Mine" 1993: "The Future" "Glam Slam" "D.M.S.R." "Anotherloverholenyohead" "Paisley Park" "New Power Generation (Part II)"
Released	September 2, 1981
Genre	Rock[1]
Length	7:14 (album version) 3:39 (7-Inch edit) 6:06 (2004 release)
Label	Warner Bros. (original) NPG (2004 release)
Songwriter(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Prince
Prince singles chronology
"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" (1981) "Controversy" (1981) "Let's Work" (1981)
Music video
"Controversy" on YouTube
Prince (1993) singles chronology
"Peach" (1993) "Controversy" (1993) "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World" (1994)
Prince (2004) singles chronology
"Days of Wild" (2002) "Controversy (Live in Hawaii)" (2004) "Musicology" (2004)

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 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, and keyboards. The song was backed with "When You Were Mine", from his previous album, Dirty Mind.

On November 29, 1993, in support of The Hits/The B-Sides, "Controversy" was once again released in the UK as a single. It reached number five on the UK charts in December 1993.^[2]

"Controversy" is considered Prince's breakthrough hit in Australia, where it peaked at number 15.^[3] In the US, "Controversy" peaked at number three on the Soul Singles chart^[4] 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.^[5]

Live in Hawaii

"Controversy (Live in Hawaii)" is a digital single made available for sale on Prince's website on March 29, 2004. The single consists of a live performance of the song: "Controversy", recorded on tour in Hawaii in 2003. The track also saw a limited release as a CD single, only available as part of a Prince in Hawaii Gift Box, available from Prince's retail outlet.

Personnel

Sourced from Benoît Clerc, Guitarcloud, Morris Day and David Ritz.^[6][7][8]

• Prince – lead and backing vocals, Oberheim OB-X, Oberheim OB-SX, electric guitars, bass guitar, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion, handclaps; possible drums
• Lisa Coleman – backing vocals
• Morris Day – possible drums

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Controversy" Chart (1981–1982) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[9][3] 15 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 28 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 70 US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard)[12] 3 US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[13] 1 1993 weekly chart performance for "Controversy" Chart (1993) Peak position UK Singles (OCC)[14] 5 UK Airplay (Music Week)[15] 9 2016 weekly chart performance for "Controversy" Chart (2016) Peak position France (SNEP)[16] 52

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Controversy" Chart (1982) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 73

References

1. Wood, Mikael (April 21, 2021). "All 85 Prince singles, ranked 4 u from worst 2 best". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
2. "controversy | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 471.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 357.
6. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
7. "Controversy". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
8. Day, Morris; Ritz, David (2019). On Time: A Princely Life in Funk. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306922206.
9. "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. January 3, 1983. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.
10. "Prince – Controversy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
11. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 677.
12. "Prince Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
13. "Prince Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
14. "Prince: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
15. "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. December 25, 1993. p. 28. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
16. "Prince – Controversy" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 4, 2023.