O'Connor became one of the most popular singers in the world quite by accident when "Nothing Compares 2 U" and its iconic music video dominated the charts and airwaves, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and making the Irish chanteuse the first female artist to win Video of the Year at the MTV Music Video Awards.
But O'Connor was uncomfortable with fame and the feeling was pretty mutual. Outspoken and resolute in her beliefs, O'Connor chafed against the music industry's expectations of her. In 1991, when she was nominated for four Grammys for "Nothing Compares 2 U" and its album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, she refused the nominations as well as the eventual award for Best Alternative Performance.
"As artists I believe our function is to express the feelings of the human race — to always speak the truth and never keep it hidden even though we are operating in a world which does not like the sound of the truth," the then-24-year-old wrote in a letter to the Recording Academy denouncing its emphasis on "material gain."
Sinéad O'Connor's death is 'not being treated as suspicious,' police say, and an autopsy will be conducted, according to the London Inner South Coroner's Court.
Sinéad O'Connor's daughter, Roisin Waters, performed an emotional rendition of her late mother's hit song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' at a tribute at Carnegie Hall.
Sinéad O'Connor's exact cause of death has been reportedly revealed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, one year after her July 2023 death.
Dublin's National Wax Museum will remove and recreate a wax likeness of Sinéad O'Connor after a public backlash and criticism from the late singer's brother.