The musician Prince has died at the age of 57

The musician Prince has died.

American news site TMZ broke the news at this afternoon. It initially reported that there had been an unnamed “fatality” at the singer’s Paisley Park Estate in Minnesota. A short while later, it said that “multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed”. It was confirmed by his publicist at around 6.10pm this evening.

On 15 April, Prince’s private jet made an emergency landing in Illionois and the star was briefly hospitalised. TMZ reports that he was “battling a bad bout of flu”. He had recently cancelled two shows due to poor health.

Social media is disbelieving. Many are already paying tribute to his inestimable influence on pop and culture.

He also sold more than 100 million records during his career. In 1985, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for Purple Rain in 1985.