Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2U
Nothing Compares 2 U is a song originally written and composed by Prince for one of his side projects, The Family.
It was later made famous by Irish recording artist Sinéad O'Connor, who covered the song and released it as the second single from her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. However, not until O'Connor recorded and produced the version along with Nellee Hooper did it become a worldwide hit in 1990.
A music video, which has been debated as iconic, was shot and received heavy rotation on MTV. Its lyrics explore feelings of longing from an abandoned lover's point of view.
Music video
Development
Mainly shot in Paris, the music video for "Nothing Compares 2 U" was directed by John Maybury. O'Connor's tears toward the end were unplanned. She stated on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s that it was caused by the lyric "All the flowers that you planted, Mother/in the back yard/All died when you went away," because she had a very complex relationship with her late mother, who used to abuse her in childhood.
Concept
The clip consists almost solely of a closeup on Sinead O'Connor's face as she sings the lyrics, sometimes with angry expression; the rest consists of her walking through an area of Paris, known as the Parc de Saint-Cloud. Toward the end of the video, two tears roll down her face, one on each cheek. In the middle and at the very end of the video there is a shot from O'Connor's photo session for the I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got album cover.
Reception
The clip won three moonmen at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards: Video of the Year (O'Connor became the first female artist to be awarded with it), Best Female Video and Best Post-Modern Video. It was nominated for Breakthrough Video, Viewer's Choice and International Viewer's Choice during the ceremony. The video also became the subject for many parodies and spoofs, such as Gina Riley's parody "Nothing Is There" on Fast Forward, referring to the fact that O'Connor tended to shave her head bald.
Cover versions
Mr. Bungle performed the song during one of their live shows.
German Eurodance group Chyp-Notic covered the song in 1990.
Dune covered the song on their 1997 album Forever, which was recorded with the London Session Orchestra.
A faster Eurodance remix of the song, "Nothing Compares", was made by DJ Fuze for Dancemania SPEED 2 issued in 1999.
The song was covered by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their 2003 album Take a Break.
The song was covered by Northern Kings on their 2008 album Rethroned.
It was covered by Shiny Toy Guns for the Goth Electro Tribute to Prince compilation in 2005.
Welsh band Stereophonics performed a cover version of the song for the album 1 Love for the charity War Child Music.
South African indie pop rock group Fire Through the Window covered the song on their self-titled debut album.
Daniel Ho (under the pseudonym The Coconutz) recorded a version of the song, translated into Hawaiian (titled "‘A’ohe like me ’oe") by Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman, for the soundtrack to the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
A version of the song by Dan Kelly was included on the 2007 compilation tribute No Man's Woman.
The classical girl band All Angels covered the song on their 2007 album Into Paradise.
The song was covered by jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott on his album Holding Back the Years.
In 2007, the song was performed on Australian Idol by eventual winner Natalie Gauci on the Top 6 Contestant's Choice night. Gauci also recorded a cover for her album, The Winner's Journey.
Aiden Grimshaw covered the song on The X Factor series 7, which was highly praised.
R&B vocalist Goapele recorded a cover using an instrumental version of the Kanye West song "Runaway" as the backing music.
Norwegian duo Brødrene Löwenstierne recorded a cover of the song for the Prince tribute compilation Shockadelica in 2008.
Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy covered the song at his live solo shows.
In 2012, the vocalist of Brazilian band Capital Inicial, Dinho Ouro Preto, covered the song, included in his third solo album, Black Heart.
Bo Bruce covered the song on The Voice UK series 1 as one of her final performances.
American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson covered the song in 2012 when she performed a concert in Dublin as part of her Stronger Tour.
Los Angeles based duo Capital Cities also covered the song.
Novita Dewi covered the song on X Factor Indonesia season 1 during the eleventh gala shows.
Capital Cities covered the song as a single for their YouTube channel.
The lyrics:
It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since u took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your love away
Since you been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
'Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
It's been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they'd only remind me of you
I went to the doctor and guess what he told me
Guess what he told me
He said girl you better try to have fun
No matter what you do
But he's a fool
'Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
All the flowers that you planted, mama
In the back yard
All died when you went away
I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard
But I'm willing to give it another try
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
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