Sinéad O’Connor, the powerful Irish singer-songwriter who sadly passed away at 56, left behind a remarkable legacy. Among her many achievements, she is perhaps best known for taking a Prince-penned song and making it unequivocally her own. That song is “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Getty Images/Ringer illustration
By Rob Harvilla
This article explores the story of Sinéad O’Connor’s rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” originally written by Prince. It delves into how she transformed the song, making it a defining piece of her career and a classic of the 1990s. This analysis draws from the insights of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s.
The story of “Nothing Compares 2 U” is a fascinating study in artistic interpretation and ownership. Prince, a prolific songwriter, gifted many songs to other artists. Some of these songs, like “Manic Monday” for The Bangles or “I Feel for You” for Chaka Khan, became hits in their own right. Cyndi Lauper’s version of “When U Were Mine” is even argued by some to surpass Prince’s original. However, Sinéad O’Connor’s interpretation of “Nothing Compares 2 U” transcends a simple cover. It was a transformative act.
Released on her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, Sinéad’s version wasn’t just a rendition; it was a complete reinvention. She didn’t just sing Prince’s lyrics; she inhabited them, infusing them with a raw emotionality and vulnerability that resonated deeply with audiences worldwide. It was as if she claimed the song as her own, not through legal ownership, but through sheer force of artistic will. This audacious act of claiming a Prince song is akin to a bold artistic heist, executed with both brilliance and courage.
But who was this artist who dared to take on Prince and make his song her anthem? Sinéad O’Connor’s life story is crucial to understanding the depth and authenticity she brought to “Nothing Compares 2 U.” In her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, she offers a candid account of her challenging upbringing. Born in Dublin in 1966, she endured a difficult childhood marked by the separation of her parents and, by her own account, abuse from her mother. She recounted instances of physical and emotional pain, including being forced to repeat “I am nothing” during punishments. Her mother’s death in a car accident when Sinéad was 18 coincided with the start of her music career. This background, though briefly sketched, is essential to understanding the fragility and fierce resilience that characterized Sinéad’s voice and artistic persona.
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The typical narrative of pop stardom often includes a period of ascent, enjoyment of fame, and eventual decline. However, for Sinéad, the breakthrough success of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was not met with typical celebratory joy. In her memoir, she describes being informed of the song and album reaching number one in America while sitting on a toilet – a starkly unglamorous setting for such momentous news. Her reaction was not elation, but tears. “Whoever it was who told me got cross with me because I didn’t take the news happily. Instead, I cried like a child at the gates of hell,” she wrote, revealing a complex and perhaps troubled relationship with fame itself.
Her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra (1987), hinted at the biblical themes and defiant spirit that would become hallmarks of her work. Taking its name from Psalm 91, the album title itself suggested protection and strength:
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge”And you make the Most High your dwellingNo harm will overtake youNo disaster will come near your tent
The record label initially resisted the album cover, finding Sinéad’s shaved head and open-mouthed singing pose too aggressive. They preferred a softer image, but Sinéad stood her ground. She wasn’t screaming; she was singing with raw passion. The album’s lead single, “Mandinka,” inspired by the TV series Roots, demonstrated her early commitment to addressing themes of oppression and identity. She drew parallels between slavery and the theocracy she perceived in Ireland, as well as the oppression within her own home – a comparison that, while potentially controversial, highlighted her willingness to speak her truth.
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, released in 1990, further explored personal and profound themes. The album title, derived from a dream conversation with her deceased mother, speaks volumes about acceptance and perhaps a lack of deserving forgiveness. The album’s opening track, “Feels So Different,” also reflects on her relationship with her mother, showcasing the deep emotional currents running through her work.
Forgiveness, and its complexities, seems to be a central theme in Sinéad’s artistry. She grappled with the weight of forgiveness, suggesting it could be a heavier burden than holding onto resentment. “I Am Stretched on Your Grave,” another track from the album, and “Three Babies,” which deals with her miscarriages and later motherhood, further reveal the intensely personal nature of her songwriting. Even “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” perhaps her most commercially accessible song, carries a defiant edge.
“Black Boys on Mopeds” directly addressed social injustice, referencing the deaths of two Black teenagers in London during a police chase. The song’s chorus, “England’s not the mythical land of Madame George and roses / It’s the home of police who kill Black boys on mopeds,” is a stark indictment of societal realities, demonstrating the album’s unflinching social commentary.
Then there is “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the sixth track. Originally written by Prince and released in 1985 by his side project, The Family, featuring lead vocals by Paul Peterson (St. Paul), the original version remained relatively obscure outside of Prince’s dedicated fanbase. Prince himself, in his memoir The Beautiful Ones (published posthumously in 2019 and co-written with Dan Piepenbring), connected the song to his parents’ divorce, a deeply traumatic experience in his childhood. He described his ability to write breakup songs stemming from this “knowledge” of profound heartbreak.
However, Sinéad O’Connor brought her own “knowledge” to the song, transforming it into a universal anthem of loss and longing. For her, it became a song directed at her mother. The music video for “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released in 1990, amplified the song’s emotional impact. Largely consisting of a close-up of Sinéad singing, with tears welling in her eyes, the video was revolutionary in its simplicity and emotional honesty. Against a stark black background, her shaved head became iconic, a visual statement of defiance and vulnerability. She had shaved her head in response to record label pressure to conform to a more conventionally feminine image, a demand she perceived as an attempt to sexualize her.
The raw emotion in the video, particularly the close-up of Sinéad as she is about to cry, resonated powerfully. In an era of often overproduced and visually cluttered music videos on MTV, the starkness and emotional gravity of “Nothing Compares 2 U” were strikingly different. It was a moment of genuine vulnerability in a media landscape often saturated with artifice. The lyrics themselves, delivered with Sinéad’s unparalleled sincerity, hit with even greater force:
He said “Girl you better try to have fun no matter what you do”But he’s a fool
This line, imbued with Sinéad’s characteristic defiance, became an anthem of self-determination. In 1991, Rolling Stone readers recognized her transformative impact, naming her Artist of the Year, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got Album of the Year, and “Nothing Compares 2 U” Song of the Year. She was both celebrated and controversial, a polarizing figure who refused to compromise her artistic vision.
Despite the song’s success, Sinéad’s relationship with Prince became strained. In interviews, she recounted a disturbing encounter with him, describing it as physically threatening. This experience soured her relationship with “Nothing Compares 2 U” for a time. As she stated in a 1991 interview, “It spoiled the song completely for me… At the moment I really don’t like the idea of singing the song. I need to get to the stage where I can separate the writer from the song—which I suppose I always did before. But I’m just very angry with him.”
In her memoir, she detailed a specific and unsettling encounter with Prince at his Los Angeles home. Summoned to his residence, she described a bizarre and uncomfortable evening involving a soup offering, a pillow fight that turned aggressive, and a nighttime chase. This chapter paints a disturbing picture of Prince’s behavior and left Sinéad deeply shaken.
It’s important to acknowledge the complexity of separating the art from the artist, especially in light of these personal accounts. Prince’s own studio version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” recorded in 1984 and released posthumously in 2018, offers a different perspective on the song. While beautiful, it lacks the raw, visceral pain and personal resonance that Sinéad brought to her rendition.
Sinéad O’Connor possessed a unique ability to see and feel deeply. In her memoir, she described a phenomenon where she could visualize the interiors of people’s homes upon meeting them, sensing their private spaces and hidden emotions. Her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” feels like just that – an intimate glimpse into Prince’s emotional “room,” interpreted and illuminated through her own unique lens. She grasped something profound in the song, something perhaps even Prince himself hadn’t fully realized. She extracted a deeper meaning, particularly from the simple word “try” in the lyrics:
I know that livin’ with you baby was sometimes hardBut I’m willing to give it another try
This willingness to “try” resonated with her own life experiences and added layers of meaning to the song. Sinéad O’Connor’s legacy extends beyond music. Her infamous 1992 Saturday Night Live performance, where she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II to protest child abuse in the Catholic Church, remains a defining moment of 90s counter-culture. This act, deeply personal and politically charged (using a photo of the Pope from her deceased mother’s bedroom wall), was a powerful statement against institutional injustice. Despite the immediate backlash, it underscored her unwavering commitment to her convictions. As she wrote in her book, the controversy “hurt me a lot less than rapes hurt those Irish children.”
Sinéad O’Connor’s version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” is more than just a cover song; it’s a testament to the power of artistic interpretation and the profound impact of personal experience on art. While Prince wrote the song, Sinéad O’Connor made it an enduring classic, forever linked to her name and her unforgettable voice.
To listen to the full analysis, check out the episode of 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s [here](https://open.spotify.com/episode/10JHYJ26ZKML2gp43MiuOM?si=a10623f721f24132). Discover more insights into 90s music by [subscribing here](https://open.spotify.com/show/0njxeKJKFtoJhCRF1ShmL4?si=4f8f5ecb9d7a4389). Preorder Rob Harvilla’s book, Songs That Explain the ’90s, on the [Hachette Book Group website](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/rob-harvilla/songs-that-explain-the-90s/9781538759462/?lens=twelve).
By Rob Harvilla
Rob Harvilla is a senior staff writer at The Ringer and the host/author of ‘60 Songs That Explain the ’90s,’ now ‘60 Songs That Explain the ’90s: The 2000s.’ He resides in Columbus, Ohio.
