(CNN) As stunned fans mourned legendary singer Prince, questions remained on what killed him days after he performed in Atlanta to rave reviews.

Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. An autopsy will be conducted Friday, starting at 9 a.m. CT (10 a.m. ET).

Paramedics tried to perform CPR but were unable to revive him, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m., less than 30 minutes after sheriff's deputies responded to a medical call at the scene.

An outpouring of grief followed as fans paid tribute to the singer who masterfully blended rock, R&B, jazz, funk and pop.

'Finality of a giant chapter'

In his home state of Minnesota, where he was a favorite native son, they wanted to remember Prince. And they did it in a way he probably would have approved of: They danced.

Tears fell freely as they blasted hits such as "Nothing Compares 2 u" and held impromptu dance parties decked out in Prince gear.

A sea of people in purple outfits lined the streets with purple flowers and stuffed animals.

"When I heard [the news of his death], it was like the finality of a giant chapter of my life knowing that there would be no more music," said Allison Werthmann-Radnich, who choked up on the streets of Minneapolis.

"Memories of Prince and his music are the background and cornerstone of pretty much every important event in my life. Prom, weddings, New Year's Eve celebrations, concerts at First Avenue and 7th Street Avenue."

She said she looked up to him for not compromising his artistic integrity.

Just got downtown. Everyone in purple and blasting #Prince A photo posted by mallory_simon (@mallory_simon) on Apr 21, 2016 at 5:44pm PDT

" And he had success because of it," she said.

In Minneapolis, crowds ranged in age from their 20s to their 80s. They sang, embraced and talked about how Prince showed the music industry you don't need to be from the East or West Coast to make it big.

Tributes pour in

Fans camped out by Paisley Park, the artist's home and recording studio, leaving bouquets of flowers and signs.

Fitting tribute to #prince. Rainbow over paisley park #RIP A photo posted by Matt Wellumson (@mxmatt) on Apr 21, 2016 at 4:43pm PDT

They also flocked to First Avenue , the downtown Minneapolis dance club that became a landmark after Prince used it in the movie "Purple Rain."

Asher Wade, 27, spent the day listening to Prince music with friends and came to First Avenue with a purple teardrop painted on his face.

"I grew up listening to his music," he said. "My parents loved him. I grew to love him. ... (it's) heartbreaking."

Beyond genres, generations

Prince's music transcended genres and generations. He defined the sound of the '80s with songs such as "Kiss" and "Purple Rain," and defied the music industry in a fight for creative freedom.

Photos: Prince: The artist Photos: Prince: The artist Singer and songwriter Prince performs onstage during his Purple Rain Tour in 1984. The artist, who pioneered "the Minneapolis sound" and took on the music industry in his fight for creative freedom, died in April 2016 at age 57. Hide Caption 1 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in New York in 1980. Prince won seven Grammy Awards, and earned 30 nominations. Five of his singles topped the charts and 14 other songs hit the Top 10. Hide Caption 2 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist He performs at the Palladium in New York in 1981. Hide Caption 3 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince at the Lyceum in London in 1981. Hide Caption 4 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince and Apollonia Kotero in a scene from the movie "Purple Rain," which was released in 1984. Hide Caption 5 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince, seen here on set, won an Oscar for the original song score for the classic film. Hide Caption 6 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in New York in 1984. Controversy followed the singer and that, in part, made his fans adore him more. His 1984 song, "Darling Nikki," details a one-night stand and prompted the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center. Led by Al Gore's then-wife, Tipper Gore, the group encouraged record companies to place advisory labels on albums with explicit lyrics. Hide Caption 7 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in 1984. Hide Caption 8 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs live at the Fabulous Forum in 1985, in Inglewood, California. Hide Caption 9 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince in 1985. Hide Caption 10 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince, circa 1985. Hide Caption 11 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs live at the 1985 Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California. He created what became known as the Minneapolis sound, which was a funky blend of pop, synth and new wave. Hide Caption 12 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Hide Caption 13 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince, circa 1985. Hide Caption 14 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince in a scene from the 1986 film "Under the Cherry Moon." Hide Caption 15 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in London in 1986. Hide Caption 16 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in London in 1986. Hide Caption 17 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs at London's Wembley Arena in 1986. Hide Caption 18 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince in 1987. Hide Caption 19 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs at Wembley Arena in London in 1988. Hide Caption 20 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist The singer's predilection for lavishly kinky story-songs earned him the nickname "His Royal Badness." He is also known as the "Purple One" because of his colorful fashions. He is seen here in 1990. Hide Caption 21 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in 1990. Hide Caption 22 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince, 1990. Hide Caption 23 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs during "The Nude Tour" in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1990. Hide Caption 24 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince listens to the crowd during a 1991 concert. Hide Caption 25 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles in 1991. Hide Caption 26 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs at the Globe Arena in Stockholm in 1993. Hide Caption 27 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince arrives at the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1994. Hide Caption 28 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist A disguised Prince appears at a Virgin Records in London in 1995. Hide Caption 29 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist As dozens of singers perform "We Are The World" on the 10th anniversary of the African famine relief anthem, the artist formerly known as Prince stands sucking on a lollipop next to Quincy Jones at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles in 1995. Hide Caption 30 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince poses for a photo in Toronto in 1996. Hide Caption 31 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Muhammad Ali pats Prince's head prior to a news conference where they were to announce plans for a benefit concert in 1997. Hide Caption 32 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in 1998. Hide Caption 33 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist A disguised Prince speaks at GQ magazine's third annual Men of the Year Awards in 1998. Hide Caption 34 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince, circa 1999. Hide Caption 35 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs in Hong Kong on October 17, 2003. Prince's concert was the the opening act in a four-week government-sponsored music festival titled "Hong Kong Harbor Fest," aimed at boosting the image of SARS-battered Hong Kong. Hide Caption 36 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince arrives with his then-wife, Manuela Testolini, for the 77th Academy Awards on February 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. Hide Caption 37 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince at the 2005 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles. Hide Caption 38 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs during a news conference for Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Hide Caption 39 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist He left his imprint on many aspects of popular culture, from film to movies to sports to politics. As the Minnesota Vikings prepped to take on the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 NFC championship game, Prince wrote a fight song entitled "Purple and Gold" to inspire his home team. The Vikings lost. He was the half-time performer at the Super Bowl in 2007 in Miami Gardens, Florida, seen here. Hide Caption 40 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs onstage during the 2007 NCLR ALMA Awards. Hide Caption 41 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs on the runway at the spring/summer 2008 collection fashion show by Matthew Williamson during London Fashion Week in September 2007. Hide Caption 42 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs during his Welcome 2 America tour at Madison Square Garden in 2011 in New York. Hide Caption 43 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist American pop legend Prince is pictured performing on the final night of the Hop Farm Music Festival in Kent, United Kingdom, in 2011. Hide Caption 44 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performing at the Femoren on August 6, 2011, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hide Caption 45 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince on stage with singer Mary J. Blige during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. Hide Caption 46 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince presents the winner for Record of the Year to Gotye and Kimbra during the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013. Hide Caption 47 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist A year later, Prince performs during the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Hide Caption 48 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince performs at the 2013 Skanderborg Festival in Denmark. Hide Caption 49 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince is seen in the stands during the 2014 French Open in Paris. Hide Caption 50 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Left to right: Zooey Deschanel, Prince, and Jake Johnson in a scene from the TV show "New Girl" which aired in 2014. Hide Caption 51 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince speaks at the 2015 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Additionally, last year, Prince released the song "Baltimore," addressing the unrest after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. He performed at a benefit concert in the city and gave a portion of the proceeds to youth groups in Baltimore. Hide Caption 52 of 53 Photos: Prince: The artist Prince tweeted his passport photo on February 11. The photo quickly took the Internet by storm. Hide Caption 53 of 53

Fans rushed to record stores to pick up albums and other Prince memorabilia. Some said the icon's death "is what it sounds like when doves cry," a reference to his monster hit from 1984.

Word of his death sparked a response from the White House.

"As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader and an electrifying performer ," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement. " 'A strong spirit transcends rules,' Prince once said -- and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative."

Postponed concerts, emergency landing

Just this month, Prince made news after he postponed two shows he'd been scheduled to perform at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

A week later, he took the stage in Atlanta to perform two concerts with 80-minute sets, unusually short for him. The stage was engulfed in lavender smoke. It was just Prince at his piano. He played his classic songs but kept the mood light and fun -- at one point showing off his skills with a version of the Peanuts theme song

But as Prince headed back home to Minnesota, he made an emergency landing April 15 and was reportedly rushed to a hospital in Moline, Illinois.

His publicist later said he was fine.

On Saturday, he appeared before a small gathering of fans at a Paisley Park dance party, proudly showing them a new purple Yamaha piano and a guitar that was made for him in Europe. The appearance, Minneapolis Star Tribune music critic Jon Bream wrote the next day, seemed aimed at proving he was alive and well.

"He never intended to perform on Saturday. There was no microphone stand next to his piano," Bream wrote. "He just wanted to demonstrate that reports of his dire health were greatly exaggerated."

The music critic noted that Prince showed off his new guitar, but didn't perform with it.

"I have to leave it in the case, or I'll be tempted to play it," Prince told the crowd, according to Bream. "I can't play the guitar at all these days, so I can keep my mind on this (the solo piano) and get better."

During that appearance, Prince made a passing reference to the emergency landing his plane had made in Illinois, according to fans.

"He basically said, when you hear news, give it a few days before you waste any prayers," DJ Michael Holz told WCCO

Fame reached fever pitch

Prince's sound was as unique and transfixing as he was. He created what became known as the Minneapolis sound, which was a funky blend of pop, synth and new wave.

The singer's fame never waned through the decades, but he was considered synonymous with the 1980s. His fame reached a fever pitch with the 1984 film "Purple Rain," about an aspiring musician, his troubled home life and a budding romance.

He was a prolific musician. Between 1985 and 1992, he released eight albums, one per year, including the soundtrack for Tim Burton's "Batman." He starred in two more movies during that era: "Under the Cherry Moon" and "Graffiti Bridge." He also put out a concert film. "Sign 'o' the Times" hit theaters in 1987.

He infamously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in the 1990s during a dispute with his record label, Warner Bros. He started to become known then as the "Artist Formerly Known as Prince."

JUST WATCHED How Prince describes his music (1999 interview) Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH How Prince describes his music (1999 interview) 00:59

In 2000, when the singer's publishing contract with the company expired, he reclaimed the name Prince.

Prince won seven Grammy Awards and earned 30 nominations.