On This Day in 1994, Prince's Single Hit No. 1 in the UK for the First and Only Time

Prince is a bona fide icon. He was instrumental in the evolution of various musical genres throughout his storied career. Even almost a decade after his death, Prince is still among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold 100 million records worldwide. He's been inducted into multiple musical halls of fame, including one posthumous induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him at number 14 on their list of "The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." He was a multitalented legend.

Among his versatile catalog, five of Prince's singles topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, including global hits like 1984's "When Doves Cry" and 1986's "Kiss." (Surprisingly, "Purple Rain" only reached number two on the same chart in 1984.)

Prince had 15 worldwide number-one singles, but only one of them topped the UK chart: "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." On this day in 1994, the soul-pop track became his first and only No. 1 single in the UK "under any name as a performer." For context, in 1993, Prince changed his stage name to what was called the "Love Symbol" to protest his contract with Warner Bros. He was also referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." (He changed it back to Prince in 2000.)

"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" was proof that Prince could achieve commercial success under his new name. In addition to ranking No. 1 in the UK, the tune peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was lauded by critics as a "dreamy slice of soul-pop," a "Philly soul tribute," and described as a "delightful ballad" that "will have the whole world a-smooching." Retrospective reviews were also favorable, with Rolling Stone including the song on their list of "25 Essential Prince Songs."

While the single is the only time Prince took the UK chart by storm as a musician, he scored two other number-one hits as a songwriter: one for the 1984 track "I Feel for You," which was covered by Chaka Khan, and Sinéad O'Connor's 1990 cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U."

No, nothing compares to Prince.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 9:24 AM.