‘Chelsea Rodgers' was a Model – Vocality in Prince of the Twenty-first Century

If there is a vocal style to define all pop styles it is Prince’s. ‘Come on,’ he instructs his model. ‘Go ahead, teach me! Go ahead Chelsea.’ Released worldwide in August 2007, ‘Chelsea Rodgers’, the second single from Planet Earth, Prince’s twenty-sixth studio album, is neatly sandwiched between ten tracks. ¹ Raunchy in its feel, this disco-funk track displays all the musical playfulness that harks back to earlier triumphs, like ‘Musicology’, ‘Black Sweat’ and ‘Housequake’. Thirty years into his career I wonder if there is that much in this track we have not heard before? Frankly, no. But, one thing is for sure – there are few musicians who manage to tug at the groove in the way he does, and that’s what I set out to explore.