Nothing Compares 2 U



"Nothing Compares 2 U" is a song written and composed by Prince for one of his side projects, The Family album by The Family band. It was later made famous by Irish recording artist Sinéad O'Connor, whose arrangement was released as the second single from her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. This version, which O'Connor co-produced with Nellee Hooper, became a worldwide hit in 1990. A music video, which has been described as iconic, was shot and received heavy rotation on MTV. Its lyrics explore feelings of longing from an abandoned lover's point of view.

Background
In 1985, The Family, a funk band created as an outlet to release more of Prince's music, released their first and only album, the self-titled The Family. "Nothing Compares 2 U" appeared on the album but it was not released as a single, and received little recognition.

Prince performed the song as a live duet with Rosie Gaines, subsequently released on his 1993 compilations The Hits/The B-Sides and The Hits 1, and the 2006 Ultimate Prince compilation. Prince also recorded a solo version of the song for his concert film, Rave Un2 the Year 2000, as well as for his 2002 live album, One Nite Alone... Live!

Commercial performance
The song became a worldwide hit, topping charts in O'Connor's native Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also became a top-five single in France and a top-20 in Denmark. The single was certified platinum in Austria and the United Kingdom, and gold in Germany and Sweden.

In the United States it spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, keeping Jane Child's "Don't Wanna Fall In Love" from reaching the top spot; in addition, it was a number-one in Billboard Alternative Songs chart and reached number two on Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It became the third best-selling single of 1990, the 82nd best-selling single of the 1990s, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in April 1990. The song's popularity sent I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got to the top of the Billboard 200 where it stayed for six consecutive weeks.

Concept
Directed by John Maybury, the clip consists mostly of a closeup on Sinéad O'Connor's face and her different stages of sadness and even anger as she sings the lyrics; 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.

O'Connor's Relationship with Prince
Speaking about her relationship with Prince in an interview with Norwegian station NRK in November 2014 O'Connor said, "I did meet him a couple of times. We didn't get on at all. In fact, we had a punch-up." She continued: "He summoned me to his house after 'Nothing Compares 2 U.' I made it without him. I'd never met him. He summoned me to his house—and it's foolish to do this to an Irish woman—he said he didn't like me saying bad words in interviews. So I told him to fuck off." O'Connor said: "He got quite violent. I had to escape out of his house at five in the morning. He packed a bigger punch than mine."

Legacy

 * In 2004, Rolling Stone placed the Sinéad O'Connor single at number 162 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
 * In a 2006 poll for a Channel 5 program "Britain's Favourite Break-up Songs", Sinéad O'Connor's version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" was voted fifth.
 * VH1 Classic listed Sinéad O'Connor's version as the second greatest classic love song, behind Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."
 * In 2002, VH1 ranked the song the 18th greatest one-hit wonder.
 * The 2002 Enrique Iglesias single "Para Que La Vida" contained translated lyrics borrowed from Nothing Compares 2 U.
 * In 2007, VH1 ranked O'Connor's rendition number 10 of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s".
 * In 2008, VH1 ranked the song the number 1 on "Final Countdown - Top 50 Heartbreakers".
 * On July 4, 2009, VH1 Classic ranked #12 on "Top 20 Flashback from the 90s".
 * In September 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 37 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.
 * The song was listed at number 77 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".
 * TIME magazine included "Nothing Compares 2 U" in its 2011 (unranked) list of "All-TIME 100 Songs".
 * On 28 May 2012 on the 'Magic' channel, the song was ranked number 1 of the 1990s Popbox Mega Power Ballads.
 * A cover version was released in 2013 on the album In a Tidal Wave of Mystery by Capital Cities on the Deluxe Edition Bonus Track.
 * On September 22, 2015 Chris Cornell performed a version as a Prince tribute in the SiriusXM Studios.
 * On 24 April 2016 the Dixie Chicks performed Nothing Compares 2 U Live as a tribute to the late singer
 * On 22 May 2016, Madonna performed "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Purple Rain" with Stevie Wonder during the tribute to the late artist Prince at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.
 * On June 26, 2016, Maxwell performed a tribute version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" during a show long tribute to the late artist Prince at the BET Awards 2016.

Track listings

 * 7" single
 * 1) "Nothing Compares 2 U" – 5:09
 * 2) "Jump in the River" – 4:13


 * CD maxi
 * 1) "Nothing Compares 2 U" – 5:09
 * 2) "Jump in the River" – 4:13
 * 3) "Jump in the River" (instrumental) – 4:04

Credits and personnel
Nothing Compares 2 U
 * Sinéad O'Connor – lead vocals, background vocals, producer, mixing
 * Prince – music and lyrics
 * Nellee Hooper – producing
 * Chris Birkett – engineering, mixing
 * Fachtna O' Ceallaigh – mixing

Jump in the River
 * Sinéad O'Connor – music and lyrics, lead vocals, producer, mixing
 * Marco Pirroni – music and lyrics
 * Chris Birkett – engineering, mixing
 * Fachtna O' Ceallaigh – mixing