The world mourned the passing of Sinéad O’Connor on Wednesday at the age of 56, an Irish singer-songwriter whose voice and artistry left an indelible mark on music history. Among her vast legacy, one achievement stands out with particular resonance: her transformation of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” While Prince penned the song, Sinéad not only covered it but elevated it to an iconic status that arguably eclipses even the original creator’s rendition. This is the story of how Sinéad O’Connor took a Prince song and made it unequivocally, and heartbreakingly, her own, proving that when it came to emotional depth and raw vulnerability, in this song, Prince No One Compares To You, Sinéad.
Prince, a prolific songwriter, gifted numerous songs to other artists, many of which flourished in their own right. Think of The Bangles’ “Manic Monday,” Chaka Khan’s electrifying “I Feel for You,” or Sheila E.’s vibrant “The Glamorous Life.” Even Cyndi Lauper’s rendition of “When U Were Mine” is often cited as surpassing Prince’s original. These examples highlight Prince’s songwriting genius and the potential for songs to take on new life through different interpretations.
However, Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released on her seminal 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, operates on a different plane. It’s more than a cover; it’s a complete emotional and artistic takeover. Sinéad didn’t just sing Prince’s lyrics; she inhabited them, reshaping the song’s very essence. She didn’t simply borrow the song; she claimed it, infused it with her unique pain and power, and in doing so, created a version that resonated with a global audience on a profoundly personal level. The audacity of this artistic feat is akin to Nicolas Cage declaring he’s going to steal the Declaration of Independence – bold, unexpected, and ultimately, unforgettable.
Who was this woman who dared to seize a Prince song and make it her own? Sinéad O’Connor’s life story, as revealed in her 2021 memoir Rememberings, is one marked by profound personal struggle. Born in Glenageary, Ireland, in 1966, her childhood was marred by trauma, including her parents’ separation and, by her account, severe physical and emotional abuse from her mother. She recounts harrowing details of her mother’s cruelty, stating, “I am nothing,” repeatedly during punishments. This deeply painful upbringing, while not excusing any actions, provides a crucial lens through which to understand the raw vulnerability and fierce resilience that characterized Sinéad’Connor’s voice and artistry. Her mother’s death in a car accident when Sinéad was 18, shortly before her music career began, casts a long shadow, potentially illuminating the depths of emotion she brought to every song.
The conventional narrative of pop stardom often includes a period of ascent, enjoyment of fame, and eventual descent. But Sinéad’s journey, as depicted in her memoir, deviates sharply from this trajectory. Even at the pinnacle of her success, she found little joy. She describes the moment she learned that “Nothing Compares 2 U” and I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got had both reached number one in America while sitting on a toilet, overwhelmed not with elation, but with tears “like a child at the gates of hell.” This anecdote encapsulates her complex relationship with fame and her profound emotional landscape.
Her debut album in 1987, The Lion and the Cobra, bore a title drawn from Psalm 91, a passage promising protection and divine refuge: “You will tread on the lion and the cobra.” The album cover, featuring Sinéad with her shaved head and open mouth, was deemed too aggressive by her record label, who preferred a softer, more demure image. However, Sinéad’s artistic vision prevailed. She wasn’t screaming; she was singing, and her raw, unfiltered expression was precisely what resonated with audiences.
“Mandinka,” a single from The Lion and the Cobra, was inspired by the TV series Roots, depicting the horrors of slavery. Sinéad explained that the series deeply moved her, drawing parallels to the “theocracy” of her upbringing and the “oppression in my own home.” While the comparison might be considered provocative, it underscored Sinéad’s unwavering commitment to speaking her truth, regardless of potential controversy.
Her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, was conceived from a dream following a medium session where she believed she communicated with her deceased mother. The title itself, derived from her mother’s words in the dream – “I do not want what I haven’t got” – suggests themes of acceptance, perhaps resignation, and a confrontation with past pain. The album’s opening track, “Feels So Different,” directly addresses her mother, setting a deeply personal and introspective tone for the entire record.
A central theme within I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, and arguably throughout Sinéad’s career, is the weight of forgiveness. She seemed to grapple with the idea that forgiving can be a heavier burden than holding onto resentment, or at least, that the act of forgiveness carried a significant personal cost.
The album’s tracklist is a tapestry of raw emotion and unflinching honesty. “I Am Stretched on Your Grave,” sampling James Brown’s “Funky Drummer,” remains connected to her memories of her mother in live performances. “Three Babies” initially addressed her miscarriages but evolved to encompass her four children. Even “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” perhaps her most commercially accessible song, retains an undercurrent of defiance and challenge to superficiality.
“Black Boys on Mopeds” tackles police brutality and racial injustice in London, with lyrics like, “England’s not the mythical land of Madame George and roses / It’s the home of police who kill Black boys on mopeds.” This track exemplifies the album’s unflinching engagement with difficult social and personal realities.
Then comes track six: “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Written by Prince and originally released in 1985 by his side project, The Family, featuring Paul Joseph Peterson (St. Paul) on lead vocals. While Prince’s original version is undoubtedly well-crafted, it remained largely within the domain of Prince’s dedicated fanbase until Sinéad O’Connor reimagined it.
Prince himself, who tragically passed away from an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2016, acknowledged the song’s origins in his personal trauma. In his memoir The Beautiful Ones, he linked “Nothing Compares 2 U” to the profound pain of his parents’ divorce, recalling how his mother would call his father late at night, even involving young Prince and his sister in pleas for his return. Prince stated, “I think that’s why I can write such good breakup songs, like ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’ I ain’t heard no breakup song like I can write. The flowers are dead.” This context reveals the song’s roots in personal loss and heartbreak, emotions that Sinéad would amplify and personalize.
When Sinéad O’Connor embraced “Nothing Compares 2 U,” she brought her own history of pain and resilience to the song. She channeled her experiences, particularly her complex relationship with her mother, into the lyrics, transforming it into a powerful expression of grief and longing directed at her own maternal figure. For many listeners, Sinéad’s version became inextricably linked to themes of maternal loss and the unique ache of that specific kind of absence.
The music video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” in 1991, in heavy rotation on MTV, was revolutionary in its stark simplicity. Consisting primarily of a close-up of Sinéad’s shaved head against a black backdrop, singing with raw emotion and eventually shedding tears, the video was a stark contrast to the often-hyperactive and visually cluttered music videos of the era. Her shaved head, a deliberate act of rebellion against record label pressures to conform to a more conventionally feminine image, became a visual symbol of her artistic integrity and defiance. The tears, seemingly spontaneous and genuine, further amplified the song’s emotional impact. In a media landscape saturated with manufactured pop imagery, Sinéad offered unvarnished truth and vulnerability.
Her defiance extended beyond image. In the lyrics, when she sings of a doctor advising her to “try to have fun no matter what you do,” her delivery drips with contempt, “But he’s a fool.” Sinéad O’Connor was not one to be told what to do, not by record labels, not even by Prince.
In 1991, Rolling Stone readers recognized her 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. Ironically, she was also voted Worst Female Singer, highlighting her polarizing nature. Her refusal to have the national anthem played before a New Jersey show further fueled controversy. In interviews, she voiced her opinions candidly, praising artists she admired and sharply criticizing those she didn’t, including Frank Sinatra, Andrew Dice Clay, and Vanilla Ice.
She also openly discussed a negative encounter with Prince, stating that he had physically threatened her. This revelation, revisited in more detail in her memoir, cast a darker shadow on the song’s history for her personally. By this point, Sinéad expressed a desire to distance herself from “Nothing Compares 2 U,” feeling that the experience with Prince had “spoiled the song completely” for her. She declared, “I’m bored with the song at this stage,” emphasizing her desire to move beyond her most commercially successful hit and explore other facets of her artistry.
In her 2021 memoir, she recounted a disturbing encounter with Prince at his Los Angeles residence. Summoned to his home, she described a bizarre and unsettling evening involving accusations about her language, an unwanted bowl of soup, and a threatening pillow fight where Prince allegedly used a pillowcase weighted with a hard object. She described fleeing into the night, feeling genuinely threatened. This account, while adding a troubling layer to the song’s narrative, also underscored Sinéad’s consistent willingness to speak truth to power, even when it involved powerful and iconic figures like Prince.
It’s impossible to cleanly separate the art from the artist, and perhaps, undesirable. Art gains meaning from its creator, and the complexities and contradictions of the artist’s life inevitably inform the work. The news of Prince’s accidental overdose in 2016 was a profound loss for the music world, prompting reflection on his immense talent and the pressures of artistic genius. Similarly, understanding Sinéad O’Connor’s life, with its pain and resilience, deepens our appreciation for the emotional weight she brought to her music.
In 2018, Prince’s original 1984 studio recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was posthumously released. While a valuable addition to his discography, and moving in its own right, it lacks the raw, visceral impact of Sinéad’s version. It is Prince’s song, beautifully crafted, but Sinéad’s rendition is the one that burrowed into the collective consciousness, becoming the definitive and emotionally resonant version.
Sinéad described having a unique ability to visualize the interiors of people’s homes upon meeting them, seeing “the carpets, the walls, the paintings…the colors of the pots and pans, the stash of private letters, everything.” Her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” feels like precisely that: an intimate, almost psychic, exploration of the emotional architecture within Prince’s song. She saw and felt depths within it that perhaps even Prince himself hadn’t fully realized.
While Prince wrote a beautiful song, Sinéad O’Connor unearthed its most profound potential. She wrung more meaning from a single word – “try” in the line “But I’m willing to give it another try” – than Prince seemed to extract from the entire composition. Her delivery imbued it with a desperate yearning, a fragile hope clinging to the edges of despair.
Sinéad O’Connor’s career was punctuated by moments of fearless protest. Perhaps the most iconic and controversial was her 1992 Saturday Night Live performance. For her second song, she sang Bob Marley’s “War” a cappella and, after changing the lyrics to protest child abuse in the Catholic Church, tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II, declaring, “Fight the real enemy.” The photo, significantly, was one she had taken from her mother’s bedroom wall on the day of her mother’s death. This act, regardless of one’s opinion of its execution, was undeniably a powerful and “Punk Rock gesture,” as the original article describes, a defiant stance against systemic abuse. The ensuing backlash, including a lifetime ban from NBC, paled in comparison to the suffering of the children she sought to defend, as she stated in her memoir.
Sinéad O’Connor’s interpretation of “Nothing Compares 2 U” stands as a testament to the transformative power of artistic interpretation. She took Prince’s song, infused it with her own lived experience of pain and resilience, and created a version that resonated with millions, becoming inextricably linked to her name and her unique artistic voice. While Prince may have written the notes and words, Sinéad O’Connor poured her soul into them, proving that in the realm of emotional resonance and raw vulnerability, prince no one compares to you, Sinéad, when it comes to this song.
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