Some songs just belong to the person who wrote them. Then there’s "Nothing Compares 2 U." It’s technically a Prince song, sure. He wrote it in about an hour back in 1984, supposedly because his housekeeper, Sandy Scipioni, had to leave for a family emergency and his life fell into a bit of a shambles without her. But if you ask anyone on the street who the song belongs to, they’re going to say Sinéad O’Connor.
She didn’t just cover it. She basically dismantled it and rebuilt it as a monument to raw, unshielded grief.
In 1990, the world wasn't exactly ready for a bald Irish woman with eyes that looked like they’d seen a thousand years of history staring down a camera lens. But when that video hit MTV, everything changed. It wasn’t just a hit; it was a cultural earthquake. Even now, decades later, that single close-up of her face remains one of the most haunting images in pop music history.
The Night Prince Tried to Fight Her
You’d think the guy who wrote the song would be thrilled that it became a global #1 hit, right? Not exactly. Prince and Sinéad O’Connor had a relationship that could best be described as "explosive." Or maybe just "weird."
They didn't actually meet until after the song was already a massive success. When they finally did meet at his Paisley Park estate, it wasn't a celebration. According to Sinéad’s memoir, Rememberings, Prince was less than impressed with her penchant for swearing in interviews. He allegedly told her she shouldn't use "f-bombs." Her response? She told him where he could go, in typical Sinéad fashion.
Then things got physical.
It started with a suggestion of a pillow fight. Sounds cute, right? Except Sinéad realized pretty quickly that Prince had stuffed something hard into the pillowcase—something designed to hurt. She ended up fleeing his house on foot at five in the morning, with Prince allegedly chasing her in his car. It’s a terrifying, bizarre story that makes you look at the song differently. For Sinéad, the encounter "spoiled" the song for a long time. She had to learn to separate the art from the man who, in her words, was a "monster."
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Making a Ballad Out of Funk
Most people don't realize that the original version of the song was a synth-heavy funk track. Prince gave it to his side project, The Family, in 1985. It didn't do much. It was fine, but it lacked that "gut-punch" quality.
When Sinéad and producer Nellee Hooper got their hands on it for her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, they stripped away the "baroque" flourishes. They ditched the saxophone. They slowed it down. They turned it into a dirge.
The recording process was remarkably simple:
- Vocals: Recorded in a single take, then double-tracked.
- Microphone: An AKG C414B-ULS was used to capture every crack and whisper in her voice.
- Tech: Nellee Hooper used an Atari ST and an Akai sampler for the strings and drums.
The result was something that sounded less like a pop song and more like a prayer or a confession. It’s in the key of F major, but it feels like it’s in the key of "broken heart."
The Tears Weren’t Scripted
We have to talk about the music video. Directed by John Maybury, it’s mostly just Sinéad’s face. That’s it. No backup dancers, no flashy edits. Just her.
Those tears that roll down her cheeks toward the end? Those were real. She hadn’t planned on crying. But while she was singing the line about the flowers her mother planted in the backyard dying, she was hit with a wave of grief for her own mother. Her mom had died in a car accident in 1985, and their relationship had been incredibly traumatic and abusive.
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In that moment, the song stopped being about a romantic breakup. It became about the hole left behind by a parent. It became about a daughter’s pain. That’s why the video feels so uncomfortable to watch—you’re literally witnessing someone have an emotional breakdown on camera.
Why the Prince Estate Still Plays Hardball
Even after both artists have passed away, the drama continues. In 2022, a documentary titled Nothing Compares was released about Sinéad’s life. If you watch it, you’ll notice something glaringly absent: the song itself.
Prince’s half-sister, Sharon Nelson, famously refused to let the documentary use the track. Her reasoning? She didn't think Sinéad "deserved" it. She claimed Prince’s live version with Rosie Gaines was the definitive version and that Sinéad’s was inferior.
It’s a petty move, honestly. You can’t erase the fact that Sinéad is the one who made that song a staple of human existence. While the estate owns the publishing rights, they can't take back the cultural ownership the public gave her. The documentary had to get creative, playing the video with commentary but no sound. In a weird way, it worked. It highlighted how much of the "performance" was in her eyes, not just her voice.
The Chart Success Nobody Saw Coming
Nobody thought a shaven-headed Irish protest singer would dominate the 1990 charts.
- #1 in 18 countries: It wasn't just a US or UK hit; it was a global phenomenon.
- Billboard success: It spent four weeks at the top of the Hot 100.
- Awards: It won Video of the Year at the 1990 MTV VMAs, making Sinéad the first female artist to ever take home that specific "Moonman."
But fame was never the goal. Sinéad was always an artist first and a "pop star" never. She famously boycotted the Grammys the year she was nominated for four awards, including Record of the Year for this song, because she felt the ceremony was too commercial. She wasn't playing the game.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Lyrics
There’s a common misconception that the "seven hours and fifteen days" line is a literal timestamp of a breakup. For Prince, it might have been. But for Sinéad, time was irrelevant. The way she stretches out the words makes the time feel like an eternity.
She also kept the word "Mother" in the line about the flowers. Most cover artists would change that to "baby" or "darling" to make it a standard love song. Sinéad didn't. By keeping "Mother," she kept the song anchored in its most painful reality. It wasn't about a boyfriend. It was about her life.
Honestly, the song is a masterclass in tension. It builds and builds, but it never quite "explodes" in the way a Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey ballad does. It stays intimate. It stays small. And that’s why it hits so much harder.
Actionable Insights for Music Lovers
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of "Nothing Compares 2 U," don't just listen to the radio edit. There are layers here that most people miss on a casual listen.
- Listen to The Family’s 1985 version: It’s on Spotify. Hearing the "funk" roots of the song makes you appreciate just how much work Sinéad and Nellee Hooper did to transform it.
- Watch the 2022 documentary: Even without the song, it provides crucial context for why she was so angry and why that anger was justified.
- Pay attention to the silence: The most powerful parts of the song aren't the high notes; they're the moments where the instruments drop out and it's just her voice, hovering in the air.
- Check out Chris Cornell’s cover: If you want to see how another legend handled the song, his acoustic version is probably the only one that comes close to Sinéad’s emotional weight.
Sinéad O’Connor once said she never sang a song she didn't emotionally identify with. She didn't just sing "Nothing Compares 2 U"—she lived it, bled for it, and ultimately, she won it. Prince might have written the notes, but Sinéad gave it a soul.
To understand the song, you have to understand the woman behind the shaved head. She was a "protest singer" who happened to have a pop hit. She used her platform to talk about child abuse, the Catholic Church, and racism long before it was "cool" or safe to do so. The song was her bridge to the world, even if the world wasn't always kind to her in return.
Go back and watch that video one more time. Look at the tears. Look at the way she doesn't blink. That isn't a performance. That's the truth. And in a world of manufactured pop, the truth is the only thing that actually lasts.
Next Steps for Deep Diving:
- Explore the full album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got to hear Sinéad’s original songwriting, which is often overshadowed by this one cover.
- Read the chapter on Prince in her memoir Rememberings for the full, unfiltered account of their late-night confrontation.
- Compare the vocal tracks of the 1990 studio version with her live performances from the late 2010s to see how her relationship with the song evolved as she aged.