Prince, one of the bestselling pop artists of all time, died Thursday morning in his home recording studio in Chanhassen, Minn., the Associated Press reported.

The singer had been hospitalized in Illinois last week for what his representative said at the time was the flu, which he had been battling for weeks, leading to the cancellation of two shows on his “Piano and a Microphone” tour.

He was released after three hours and returned to his home in Minnesota.

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Born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis on June 7, 1958, the trailblazing performer sold more than 100 million records over the course of his career, fusing rock, pop, funk and R&B and demonstrating an audacious, idiosyncratic sense of style and a willingness to court controversy.

A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, he won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for best original song score for the 1984 film “Purple Rain.”

A highly prolific and restless artist who blended androgynous sexuality with impeccable pop craftsmanship, Prince released more than three dozen albums over his four-decade career. He scored more than 50 top-40 hits around the world since 1979, including such songs as “When Doves Cry,” “1999,” “Little Red Corvette” and “Raspberry Beret.”

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