The world is in mourning as yet another star is taken from us far too early. This past Thursday Prince was pronounced dead after being found in an elevator unresponsive and paramedics attempts to resuscitate him were sadly unsuccessful. As my heart breaks yet again, I have decided to harness my grieving into write an article on stars who I feel were taken far too soon and not focus on their untimely passing but their accomplishments they made. Let's begin with the man himself, Prince.

1. Prince [June 7,1958 - April 21, 2016]

Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, Minnesota to John Nelson [musician with the stage name Prince Rogers] and Mattie Shaw [a singer for the Prince Rogers band]. Having been encouraged from an early age, Prince taught himself how to play the piano, the drums, and the guitar. Later on down the road, in 1978, he signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Within his first two albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979) which contained his first top 20 pop hit, the easygoing "I Wanna Be Your Lover."

After hitting it big in the U.S. he finally made it internationally with his 1982 release 1999 with catchy songs like, "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious." Then came along Purple Rain (1984) which became the soundtrack to the same-named movie. This album featured one charting song after another, with "Purple Rain " reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" both reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Some other accomplishments Prince acquired in his time, was signing a record $100 million deal with Warner Bros., which at the time was the largest recording and music publishing contract in history. This allowed him the freedom to pursue television, film, book and merchandising deals separately. To compare, fellow music giants, Michael Jackson and Madonna, had $60 million-plus contracts that were all inclusive. He was a seven-time Grammy winner, TIME magazine named him as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World," he won a Lifetime Achievement Award from BET and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

2. David Bowie [Jan. 8, 1947 - Jan. 10, 2016]

David Bowie, born as David Robert Jones, was a man of many talents. He was a musician, an actor, he created characters like Ziggy Stardust and a father. He had a bit of a rocky start getting into the music scene but finally busted through with his 1969 single " Space Oddity." Bowie was a man who liked to keep people on their toes about what he would do next, and that is how Ziggy Stardust was born. Ziggy was a persona Bowie made who was to represent a fallen downtrodden rock star and just as soon as the public got used to the persona Bowie stripped himself back down.

As mentioned, David Bowie's talents didn't just lie in music but in acting as well. His first role he landed was in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and he performed on Broadway in The Elephant Man in 1980, he was critically acclaimed for his performance. Bowie also starred as Jareth, the Goblin King, in Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy-adventure film The Labyrinth.

Some memorable achievements of Bowie are his induction into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, being given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2006, and was a father to Duncan Jones and Alexandria Zahra Zones. In his lifetime, he released 26 albums including his last album Blackstar which he released on his birthday January 8, 2016, featuring the single " Lazarus."

3. Alan Rickman [Feb. 21, 1946 - Jan. 14, 2016]

Alan Rickman, a man who has played many a role, passed away but he didn't leave us with nothing. Starring in around 69 films, fans can easily watch and remember the talent that was Alan Rickman. Some of his characters played are but not limited to: Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series, the blue caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass , Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , the voice of Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, Metatron in Dogma , etc.

Rickman was a 17-time award winner. To name some he was Golden Globe winner and a London Critics Circle Film Award winner, among being nominated for more than 33 awards in his acting career.

4. Aaliyah Haughton [Jan. 16, 1979 - Aug. 25, 2001]

Having signed a contract with Jive Records at age 12, there was nowhere to go but up for young Aaliyah Haughton. She quickly rose to popularity and in 1994, at just 15, catapulted onto the R&B charts with her album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number. Aaliyah gained more recognition when she recorded "Journey to the Past" for the animated film Anastasia . Her second soundtrack effort," Are You That Somebody?" for 1998's Dr. Dolittle, landed her a Grammy Award nomination and went to No.1 on the R&B charts.

Aaliyah shocked everyone when she appeared in Romeo Must Die (2000) set in modern-day L.A. Not only did she act in the movie but she was the executive producer of the movie's soundtrack. Her second role was in the movie adaptation of Anne Rice's novel Queen of the Damned, where she played the title role of the Queen. She also was signed to appear in two sequels to The Matrix but sadly never got to.

Aaliyah Haughton was only 22-years-old when she and her video crew's small Cessna passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Abaco Island in the Bahamas, where it was headed to Miami, Florida. Aaliyah and her video crew had just finished a video and were heading back when the crash occurred. Aaliyah and seven others were believed to have died on impact.

5. Amy Winehouse [Sept. 14, 1983 - July 23, 2011]

Despite what the tabloids put out, there was so much more to Amy Winehouse than drug and alcohol abuse. Her very first album Frank (2003) was nominated for two BRIT awards, Best Female Solo Artist, and Best Urban Act and was further nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. Frank also went on to hit double platinum status.

In 2006, is when Winehouse became an international star with her album Back to Black featuring the hit single "Rehab" which became a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom and won her the BRIT Award for Best Female Solo Artist, and she was nominated for BRIT award Best British Album. Shortly afterwards Back to Black made its U.S. debut and it skyrocketed higher than any other American debut by a Britsh female artist in history.

After a rough patch with substance abuse, Winehouse was denied access to the U.S. to perform at the 2008 Grammys so she performed via satellite from London. Through the night, Winehouse won five Grammys, including Best New Artist, Song of the Year and Record of the Year; thus making her the first British singer to win five Grammys. In 2009, Amy Winehouse was entered into The Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Grammy Awards Won by a Female British Act." One of the last things Amy Winehouse did was open her own recording label called Lioness Records and signed her 13-year-old goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield, as the first musician on the label.

Sadly, Amy Winehouse lost her battle with substance and alcohol abuse and died of accidental alcohol poisoning in 2011.

6. Kurt Cobain [Feb. 20, 1967 - April 5, 1994]

Last but certainly not least, is Kurt Cobain. Lead singer of grunge band Nirvana, spouse of Courtney Love, father of Francis Bean Cobain and just an ordinary guy.

With a troubled background, Cobain found an outlet in art and music. He created his first band, Fecal Matter, who recorded a few songs but never played any gigs. In 1988, Nirvana came to be after Cobain had been struggling with a name for the band. They released their first single "Love Buzz" with label Sub Pop Records and went on to record their debut album, Bleach, which failed to make much impact. Cobain began to feel neglected by Sub Pop Records and in 1991, Nirvana signed with Geffen Records, later releasing their hit album Nevermind , which unbeknownst to them, would spearhead a musical revolution.

With the band's quick rise to fame with singles like "Smells Like Teen Spirit," climbing to the top of the music charts, Cobain was soon called one of the best songwriters of his generation, which he began to feel pressured and worried about how his songs were being received and if he could regain control of the uncontrollable future awaiting Nirvana. He began to muddle in drugs and it seemed like his personal life was going to hell, his professional life, on the other hand, was just getting started.

With the 1993 release of In Utero giving listeners an inside look of some of the more personal struggles Cobain was facing, such as "Heart-Shaped Box," which was supposedly written about his marriage to Courtney Love, Cobain seemed to be furthering himself from his bandmates. On April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead in the guest house behind his Seattle home, having shot himself. In his suicide note, he addressed not only his family and friends but his fans as well.

Despite Cobain's passing, Nirvana has still managed to make waves in the music scene. In 2002, after a lengthy legal battle between Grohl and Novoselic and Love an anthology of their songs, Nirvana, was released, which included the unreleased track "You Know You're Right." Two other collections were released that included other previously unreleased material, with 2004's With the Lights Out and 2005's Sliver: The Best of the Box.

These artists are just a handful of the stars that have left, far before they showed us fans all they had within them. One can only wish that they are happy wherever they are.