Once Upon a Time in the Top Spot: Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U”

25 years ago today, a certain songstress with a look which implied to many that she might’ve been follicularly challenged went to the top of the UK Singles chart with a song written by a gentleman often referred to as His Royal Badness.

(You know, we always try to add a little mystery to these opening paragraphs, but we have to admit: that one really felt like we were trying too hard. Sorry about that.)

Before she released “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Sinead O’Connor didn’t exactly have household-name status in America. Sure, she’d gotten a fair amount of love from college radio with her debut LP, The Lion and the Cobra, which ultimately went gold and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, but she really wasn’t much more than a cult artist in the grand scheme of things. Who would’ve thought that her decision to record a cover of a Prince composition, one which had originally been recorded by The Family in 1985 to limited notice, would’ve turned her fortunes around so significantly?

Recorded as a tribute to her mother, who’d died half a decade earlier, O’Connor’s take on “Nothing Compares 2 U” was bleak but heartfelt, leaving listeners on both sides of the pond awestruck, but those are far from the only places where it was a success. The single also topped the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland…and, yes, we did just happen to have them in alphabetical order. The video for the song was virtually as stark, focusing predominantly on O’Connor’s face, with two tears rolling down her face toward the conclusion of the proceedings. Pretty rough stuff if you’re prone to emotion, but it won people over: the video took home Video of the Year, Best Female Video, and Best Post-Modern Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.

As we all know, things got a little controversial for Ms. O’Connor before too long, thanks to her decision to rip up a photo of the Pope after a performance of Bob Marley’s “War” on Saturday Night Live, but while that action may have tarnished her to many, “Nothing Compares 2 U” continues to hold a place in the hearts of many, still regularly turning up on lists as one of the greatest cover songs – or just greatest songs, period – of all time.