British singer Paloma Faith has credited Prince with supporting her as she recorded her new album, calling the funk icon's approval "validating".
The Purple Rain hitmaker became a mentor to the pop star while she worked on her latest release Fall To Grace, and she admits his advice was invaluable.
Suddenly the crowd went absolutely mental. I looked round and saw that Prince had pulled up a chair onstage and was sitting there bopping his head
She tells Britain's Daily Mirror, "Obviously, it could be here today, gone today. If my album was dreadful, Prince would have lost interest very quickly. But I found his support validating because it made me feel confident to do the best I can. And I have".
Prince befriended Faith after she opened for him at a concert in Copenhagen, Denmark last summer (11), and she was left speechless when he joined her onstage during her set.
She recalls, "Suddenly the crowd went absolutely mental. I looked round and saw that Prince had pulled up a chair onstage and was sitting there bopping his head to The Music. The band were all mouthing, 'It's Prince!'"
Meanwhile in related news Faith ended up with a black eye after stepping in to a fight to protect a female friend.
The pop star goes to great lengths to defend her loved ones, and she even offered to take a punch when a pal found herself in the middle of a heated altercation.
Faith tells Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "I was defending a friend who was about to get hit. I said, 'If you are going to hit anyone, it's going to be me' and he did. Then he freaked out and ran away. It worked.
"It was the difference between my friend getting beaten up and me getting a black eye, which is what happened. I feel quite fearless protecting the people I love".
