Prince was a musical genius who gave us countless anthems—'Purple Rain,' 'When Doves Cry,' 'Kiss'—but one of his most enduring hits wasn't sung by him at all. 'Nothing Compares 2 U' was penned by the Purple One in 1984 for his short-lived funk band The Family, yet it was Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor who turned it into a global phenomenon in 1990. The song's journey from obscurity to iconic status is a tale of artistic reinvention, raw emotion, and unexpected rivalry.
The Song That Almost Vanished
In 1984, Prince recorded a demo of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' but felt it didn't fit his own sound. He handed it to The Family, a band he'd formed under his Paisley Park label. Their self-titled 1985 album flopped, was pulled from shelves, and the band disbanded. The song seemed destined for oblivion—until O'Connor's manager, also her romantic partner at the time, suggested she cover it for her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
O'Connor's Emotional Reinvention
O'Connor stripped away The Family's ornate arrangement, opting for a sparse, double-tracked vocal that let Prince's lyrics and her own vulnerability shine. She reportedly recorded the track in a single take, channeling the pain of her crumbling relationship with the very manager who'd introduced her to the song. The result was a power ballad that oscillated between a whispery falsetto and a full-throated belt, with a tremor in her voice that felt achingly real. The music video—a simple close-up of O'Connor's face as tears streamed down—became iconic, winning Video of the Year on MTV and making her the first woman to do so.
Prince's Complicated Response
Despite the song's success—it went platinum in the US and UK—Prince reportedly resented O'Connor's version, which outsold all his own releases at the time. O'Connor later claimed Prince once invited her over for a pillow fight, only to fill his pillow with hard objects. After both artists passed, Prince's estate blocked O'Connor's version from appearing in a documentary about her life. In 1993, Prince released his own live rendition with Rosie Gaines on The Hits/The B-Sides, a soulful, sax-laden take that felt like an attempt to reclaim the song.
Legacy of a Timeless Cover
Other artists have since put their stamp on 'Nothing Compares 2 U.' Chris Cornell's tender, cello-and-guitar version gained traction after Prince's 2016 death, while Aretha Franklin and Madonna have also covered it. The song's enduring power lies in its ability to be reborn through each artist's unique lens—a testament to Prince's songwriting and O'Connor's fearless interpretation. For fans of music history, it's a reminder that sometimes the greatest hits come from unexpected places.
