Tampa, Fla. ? Sitting in his purple-draped dressing room, sipping tea amid sweet-scented candles, Prince is as peaceful and serene as a superstar could be before showtime — until you utter THAT ONE WORD:

Comeback.

Just mention the idea that his latest album, “Musicology” — coupled with a tour, TV specials and magazine covers — has anything to do with regaining the spotlight, and a slight frown falls over Prince’s chiseled, pretty face.

“I would ask people who want to call this a comeback; where they think I’m coming back from?” the 45-year-old star, neatly dressed in a taupe suit with matching heels, said during an interview backstage at the St. Pete Times Forum.

“They want to see me as having failed.”

By “they,” he means critics, who point out it’s been more than a decade since the regal performer dominated the spotlight. His star burned brightest in the 1980s and early ’90s as he sold tens of millions of albums behind hits like “Kiss,” “Little Red Corvette,” and “Purple Rain,” from his blockbuster 1984 movie debut.

Back then, Prince’s was part of the pop trifecta of superstars — as popular as Michael Jackson or Madonna, yet still in a class of his own. He was considered a musical genius, dazzling audiences with his guitar, piano or feverishly dancing footsteps. He always wrote and produced all of his own songs, which ranged from pop to R&B to rock, and from romance to raunch.

Independent streak

The reclusive musician was always something of an enigma. After his much-publicized dispute with Warner Bros., he not only became more of a puzzlement, but one big unpronounceable symbol (which is what his name became). As he abandoned major record labels and released music primarily through the Internet and on his own, his star power and sales dwindled to a fraction of their former levels.

Prince performs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in this March 29 file photo. Although the singer has had a lower profile in recent years than when his career first took off 20 years ago, Prince insists he's not on the comeback trail.

But Prince sees it differently. In his eyes, he has been more successful on his own. He mentions two projects that sold more than 100,000 copies. For a superstar, by industry standards, that would be deemed a failure.

“(But) I get all the money from that, so when you do the math on that, it’s a big day at the races,” Prince quips in his deep voice. “My bankers are very happy with me.”

While Prince stresses he holds no bitterness, he clearly does not regard the music industry with much regard. He likens it to “The Matrix,” and in going independent, he decided to take the little red pill.

He proudly notes that he determines where his records are sold, when he goes on tour and what kind of music he puts out.

“When you show you can be successful as an independent artist, the umbilical cord is broken,” Prince says. “(Record contracts are) a parent-child relationship. An advance is an allowance. Any business situation is restrictive.”

Playing all the angles

Yet for “Musicology,” he went to Columbia Records — part of the Sony conglomerate — to manufacture and release it in conjunction with his own label, New Power Generation (NPG) Records.

And the typically reclusive entertainer — who gives few interviews and happily lives life out of the limelight with his wife and former employee, Manuela Testolini, in his hometown of Minneapolis — has suddenly become more visible.

In February, he kicked off the Grammys with a performance with Beyonce; he also made an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show. More media appearances followed, and it didn’t hurt to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, where he again wowed audiences.

Seems like a guy who’s looking to reclaim his throne. And it seems to be working — “Musicology” debuted on the charts at No. 3, selling about 192,000 copies.

Except Prince says he never stopped being a success — it’s just that people weren’t paying enough attention.

“Leno — this is the fourth time I’ve played it,” he says of his recent appearance. The Grammys? “Every year they ask me to play the Grammys. I just said yes this year.”

And his link with Columbia?

“They’re augmenting the project — they’re not the promised land,” he says. He notes that he had a similar deal with Arista in 1999 and may put out an instrumental release on Blue Note Records this year.

Prince may never replicate the record sales or airplay of his heyday, but it’s clear he doesn’t think those were ever his glory years — he’s living them now.

“There ain’t nothing that I feel in lack of,” he says. “It’s a wonderful day.”