May 10--Chicago-area native Shonda Rhimes honored Prince by featuring his songs Thursday on her ABC shows "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal."
"For me, this iconic spirit was so special, and I was truly shocked at how viscerally and emotional I felt when he died," Rhimes told Rolling Stone magazine in a story posted online Tuesday. "I literally was grieving; it felt really, really personal. Yes, I'd met him, gone to concerts, seen him play at the White House, but this was really intense for me, like I'd spent too many hours with this person in my head. So using him in the show was an imperative."
Rhimes, who grew up in south suburban University Park, said she's only used music from the 1970s on "Scandal." Thursday's episode featured Prince's 1982 single "Delirious," while the "Grey's Anatomy" episode included Prince and The New Power Generation's version of "Nothing Compares 2 U."
Prince died April 21 in Minnesota at the age of 57.
"I sort of grew up with him," Rhimes said. "When his first album came out, I was maybe 9 years old, and you know, it was this black guy with the feathered hair, which we'd never really seen before. I have been in love with him ever since."
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