Prince cremated, with resting place secret

Loved ones cremated pop icon Prince on Saturday with his final resting place to remain a secret, two days after his sudden death stunned the music world.

The 57-year-old "Purple Rain" creator, one of the most acclaimed and unique artists of his generation, will eventually be honored with a concert, his spokeswoman, Anna Meacham said.

According to Meacham,  Prince was cremated on Saturday and his ashes' "final storage will remain private."

"Prince was celebrated by a small group of his most beloved: family, friends and his musicians, in a private, beautiful ceremony to say a loving goodbye," she said in a statement, with a faint echo of the opening lines to "Let's Go Crazy."

"An announcement will be made at a future date for a musical celebration."

The pop legend, renowned for his stamina and prolific musical output, died suddenly Thursday at his Paisley Park estate near his birthplace of Minneapolis.

The cause of Prince's death remains a mystery. 

Prince had been hospitalized a week earlier complaining of flu-like symptoms after his plane made an emergency landing on his way back from Atlanta where he performed what would be his final full-fledged concerts.

Authorities plan in the coming days to search Paisley Park -- Prince's sprawling headquarters that was home to a state-of-the-art studio and vaults of vast unreleased work.

But Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson told reporters Friday that the move was routine, with no indication of suicide or foul play.

Tributes have meanwhile come from throughout the music world and beyond. 

US President Barack Obama, who invited Prince to play at the White House last year, earlier hailed him as "one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time."

Prince also became the sudden star of the second weekend of Coachella, the premier music festival which takes place in the California desert.

LCD Soundsystem, the influential New York electronic band that reunited for Coachella, performed a cover of Prince's early funk hit "Controversy" during the group's headlining set late Friday.

The English pop singer Ellie Goulding sang "When Doves Cry" at Coachella while Mavis Staples, the 76-year-old R&B great once signed to Prince's label, broke down with emotion before offering a rendition of "Purple Rain."

- AFP