Nicolas Cage's Post-Annulment Plan Included Angry 'Purple Rain' Karaoke

Nicolas Cage - Wild At Heart

Break-ups are nasty business. It's never fun to find yourself caught in a shattered romance, to see yourself wrestling feelings of dismay and anguish at the sudden loss of close comfort. Sometimes you need to let your feelings out. And if you're Nicolas Cage, you do it in a very public fashion. The actor, who is often known for channeling volcanic rage in more-than-a-handful of his esteemed (and less-than-esteemed) films, wasn't necessarily shy about expressing his frustrations through song. Specifically, during a recent night of karaoke singing, Nic Cage let out his frustrations through a passionate and volatile rendition of Prince's "Purple Rain." The result was a spectacle only Nicolas Cage could produce. Check it out below.

In the short 30-second clip, which was provided by TMZ, Nicolas Cage can (loudly) be heard shout-singing Prince's beloved song with all his pent-up anger coming out of his system, informing this strangely vicious cover of the '80s tune. Though one should not speculate, it looks as though Nicolas Cage is at least half in the bag here. And while one can't confirm that Cage is singing about his recent annulment, the timing between this karaoke session and the separation process does suggest that this big fallout was weighing on his tormented soul, at least in some fashion.

But wait, there's more! Apparently, there was either additional footage collected of this very memorable karaoke performance, or Nicolas Cage went back on the mic at the Los Angeles bar for another round of "Purple Rain," because there was a second video released by the gossip publication which isn't quite as intense as the first video, but it is definitely more rage-filled than your typical rendition of the song. Based on his shirt change, one can presume that it was a separate angry rendition of "Purple Rain." Which means Cage brought this energy not once, but twice! Crazy.

While there's no denying that "Purple Rain" is meant to be a passionate song, the energy that Nicolas Cage is bringing to this classic song isn't exactly what the late Prince had in mind. Nevertheless, fueled by alcohol (presumably) and his deeply-felt dismay, Cage gave these karaoke attendees a memorable pair of experiences.

In the movies, Nicolas Cage is famously known for unleashing his signature Cage Rage ™ on souls both suspecting and not. It is a trademark of his acting style that he can blow up in predictably unpredictable bouts of explosive energy and unleash no shortage of demonic fury. This karaoke performance falls in line with those electric cinematic moments, though it's rare to see it in real-life. Away from the movie sets, the bulky cameras and the magnifying lighting equipment, this mini rampage moment feels even more wild at heart and vengeful than your usual Nic Cage freak-out. The actor is clearly going through a lot on the emotional front, and it doesn't seem like he is handling it particularly well — at least, based on these intensive karaoke sessions. Though, Cage really put his all into Prince's hit single.

And one thing is for certain: when it comes to moody moments of break-up blues, Nicolas Cage definitely knows how to bring out the lightning with his (purple) rain.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.