Nearly a decade after his death, new music from Prince is still emerging from the vault, and the latest is arriving with purpose. Out today via NPG Records in partnership with Legacy Recordings, “With This Tear” is a previously unreleased studio recording dating back to November 1991. Written, produced and entirely performed by Prince at his Minnesota studio Paisley Park, the track has been newly mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator Chris James.
Shortly after recording it, Prince passed “With This Tear” to Céline Dion, who released her own version in 1992. This newly unveiled original offers a direct window into his early-’90s creative period, when the aritst was particularly unfiltered and self-contained. Sonically, it trades the sweeping, adult-contemporary grandeur of Dion’s take for a sparse, piano-led arrangement with soft synth textures and subtle orchestration. The accompanying video underscores that intimacy, pairing the track with a montage of archival photos and performance footage spanning Prince’s life and career.
In addition, the single is being framed as the first in a larger rollout of unreleased recordings tied to a previously unheard Prince album project expected later this year.
Its release coincides with the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death on April 21, marked by the annual A Day 2 Reflect | A Night 2 Remember event at Paisley Park. The daylong program includes public tours, fan gatherings at the NPG Music Club, a listening lounge and a candle-lighting ceremony timed to 4:21 p.m., the moment that has become a touchstone for fans. Evening programming features a concert screening and extended access to the Paisley Park complex.
The anniversary also sets the stage for the larger Prince Celebration: 10th Anniversary Celebration of Life, which will run June 3–7 across Minneapolis. For the first time, members of Prince’s core bands the New Power Generation and the Revolution are scheduled to share the stage, with participants including Bobby Z and Lisa Coleman alongside Morris Hayes, Tevin Campbell and others from across Prince’s extended musical orbit.
Additional performers slated for the week include Chaka Khan, Morris Day, Miguel, Bilal and El DeBarge, while programming will also spotlight key albums like Parade, Emancipation, and 3121. A large-scale downtown sing-along and returning fan events at First Avenue round out the schedule.
