Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, whose original hit "Nothing Compares 2 U" topped the international charts, has died. He is 56 years old.
His family confirmed his death in a statement to the BBC on Wednesday.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead," the statement read. "His family and friends are devastated and are asking for privacy at this very difficult time."
O'Connor was born in Dublin on December 8, 1966. He has had an inspiring and controversial music career, and has spoken candidly about politics, spirituality and mental health issues. On Saturday Night Live in 1992, he smashed a picture of Pope John Paul II, and a few weeks later he was waved on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York at a Bob Dylan tribute concert. .
He also opposed playing the national anthem at his concerts, and several radio stations banned his music. It also sparked O'Connor's feud with Frank Sinatra, who was unhappy with his decision.
In 1987, O'Connor released her debut album , The Lion and the Cobra , followed by 1990's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got , which included the song "Nothing Compares 2 U". The song became an international hit for O'Connor, but Prince first recorded it for The Family in 1985 on his self-titled album. The song spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned O'Connor four Grammy nominations for the song and the album, but she withdrew from the competition.
The song's music video was also a hit, featuring a close-up of O'Connor and her trademark shaved head. In Miley Cyrus' 2013 hit "Wrecking Ball," borrowed from O'Connor's video, Cyrus is also naked and licking a bat. O'Connor wrote an open letter to the singer, warning against sexual exploitation by the music industry.
O'Connor has released 10 albums, his most recent full-length being 2014's I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss . In 2021 , he released the memoir "Memories" .
The singer said that growing up in a violent family led to depression. He added that the fame did not help matters. "I was always very nervous and couldn't always feel happy or content or anything," she said on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007.
He said he made his first serious suicide attempt at age 33 and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years later. "The volume is gradually increasing and increasing and increasing," he told Winfrey. "It's almost too hard to explain when you're a person with these things, but the best way I can describe it is that before you got sick, you were a solid wall... and when you get sick, it's like a brick and a brick remains on the spot.
Her last public appearance was at the RTÉ Choice Music Awards in Dublin in March, where she received a standing ovation after winning the Irish classic I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got . He dedicated the award to "all refugees in Ireland".
In 2022, O'Connor reveals that her 17-year-old son committed suicide. A month later, she canceled a year's worth of performances "as she continues to grieve the tragic loss of her beloved son, Shane." He was married four times, has three children.
He converted to Islam in 2018 and renamed himself Shuhada Sadaqat.
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