Prince to Perform on American Idol  4/4/06

Pop superstar Prince will reportedly appear on TV talent show American Idol to both coach contestants and perform on the hit TV series - in a bid to maintain high album sales.

The notoriously shy star has just released his latest LP, 3121, which debuted at the top of the US Billboard chart.

According to PageSix, executives from Prince's record company convinced him to appear on the show to keep the album at the top of the charts, after noting a huge spike in album sales when Barry Manilow appeared on the program earlier this year (06).

According to one source, "It wasn't easy though because Prince apparently hates the show and has never even watched it."