56-year-old Irish singer-songwriter, Sinead O’Connor, known for her 1990 global hit, Nothing Compares 2 U, has died.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the singer’s family said in a statement on Wednesday.
She burst onto the international music scene at the beginning of the 1990s with her captivating rendition of the song originally penned by pop icon Prince, looking directly into the camera for the music video, which has since been viewed nearly 400 million times on YouTube.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressed his condolences to “all who loved her music” in a post on messaging app X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that “her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”
In the early 1990s, O’Connor transformed the perception of women in music.
Many young women perceived her shaved head, distressed expression, and formless attire as a direct challenge to popular culture’s long-dominant ideas of femininity and sexuality.
The talented singer was well known for discussing her battles with mental health issues, particularly after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2022, her adolescent son Shane died by suicide.
O’Connor converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat, though continued to perform under the name Sinead O’Connor.
“I read chapter two of the Quran and I realized I’m home, and that I’ve been a Muslim all my life. There’s a way of thinking,” she said in an interview in 2019.
“You can be a Muslim without actually being a Muslim as it’s a headset [mindset].”
Source-Aljazeera
