Prince was praised by Australian reviewers for his intimate and moving performances.
Prince was praised by Australian reviewers for his intimate and moving performances.
The Australian leg of Prince's tour proved "intimate", "spontaneous" and vocally "breathtaking", if not a little too brief.
Initial reviews are in and it seems the singer can't be faulted from a performance perspective.
Everything from the set list, to stories of his father, and a special tribute to latemuse and ex-girlfriend Denise Matthews, aka Vanity - was "pure Prince".
Prince paid tribute to his ex-girlfriend and muse Vanity at two shows in Melbourne last night. Photo / Getty
Though at just 1 hour and 20 minutes, critic Alex Dean of the Daily Review called the brevity of his appearance "disappointing".
His second show at Melbourne's State Theatre was otherwise "breathtaking", the reviewer added.
"Prince's showmanship (honed over four decades) had the audience eating out of his hand every second he was on stage," Dean wrote.
"The clarity, quality and range of his vocals was superb and benefitted from the sparse piano accompaniment"
Feedback from his first concert at the same venue, earlier that evening didn't mention anything of the short stop off, instead praising his performance as one to go down in history.
News.com.au said: "Armed just with a piano and that immense talent, Prince put on the kind of concert you just don't expect to see from a superstar.
"It was spontaneous and intimate. It was like a private piano party, just with 2000 people watching. It was pure Prince."
Having learned of Vanity's death just hours before taking his place on stage, the Sydney Morning Herald's Martin Boulton noted Prince's unique connection with the crowd.
"last night's audiences shared what was clearly an emotional night for the seven-time Grammy winner..." he said.
"At times in the earlier show Prince appeared overwhelmed, pausing briefly to acknowledge the support from the audience."
He later acknowledged his followers on Twitter with a simple photo and message.
