Nothing Compares 2 U

"Nothing Compares 2 U"
Single by Sinéad O'Connor
from the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Released	8 January 1990 (U.K.) 11 February 1990 (U.S.)
Format	CD single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1989
Genre	Pop rock, Soft rock
Length	5:10
Label	Chrysalis
Writer(s)	Prince
Producer	Sinéad O'Connor, Nellee Hooper
Sinéad O'Connor singles chronology
"Jump in the River" (1988) "Nothing Compares 2 U" (1990) "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1990) Music video "Nothing Compares 2 U" on YouTube Music sample "Nothing Compares 2 U" Sinéad O'Connor's version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" from I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

"Nothing Compares 2 U" is a song by Irish recording artist Sinéad O'Connor, released as the second single from her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. It was written by Prince for one of his side-projects, The Family. However, it wasn't until O'Connor recorded and produced the version along with Nellee Hooper when it became a worldwide hit. An iconic music video was shot and received heavy rotation on MTV.

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.

Due to the popularity of the O'Connor recording, Prince began to perform the song in concert, and included a live duet between himself and Rosie Gaines on his 1993 compilations The Hits/The B-Sides and The Hits 1. Prince also recorded a solo version of the song for his 2002 live album, One Nite Alone... Live!.

Composition

The song is five minutes and 10 seconds in length and is composed in the key of F Major.

Chart performance

The song became a worldwide hit, topping charts in O'Connor's native Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. 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 atop the Billboard Hot 100, 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 spent six consecutive weeks.

Music video

Development

Mainly shot in Paris, the music video for "Nothing Compares 2 U" was directed by John Maybury. O'Connor's cry toward the end wasn't accidental: she stated on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s that it was caused by the lyric "All the flowers that you planted, Mama/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.

The sole face of O'Connor made the video one of the most recognizable of the 1990s

Concept

The clip consists almost solely of a closeup on 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. Towards the end of the video, two tears roll down her face, one per cheek. In the middle and at the very end of the video there is a shot from O'Connor's photosession 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, for instance Gina Riley's parody "Nothing Is There" on Fast Forward, referring to the fact that she was bald.

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, which contains only two songs of the 1990s ranked higher.
• 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 Sinead 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.
• 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".

Track listings

7" single

1. "Nothing Compares 2 U" – 5:08
2. "Jump in the River" – 4:13

CD maxi

1. "Nothing Compares 2 U" – 5:08
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

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	45
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)	3
Canadian Adult Contemporary (RPM)	1
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)	1
Denmark (Tracklisten)	19
France (SNEP)	5
Germany (Media Control AG)	1
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)	1
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)	1
New Zealand (RIANZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	1
Poland (Polish Airplay Chart)	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	2
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)	Position
Australian Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Dutch Top 40	1
Swiss Singles Chart	6
UK Singles Chart	2
US Billboard Hot 100	3

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
UK Singles Chart	61
US Billboard Hot 100	82

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
Austria	Platinum	15 May 1990	30,000
Germany	Gold	1990	250,000
Sweden	Platinum	1 March 1990	50,000
UK	Platinum	1 March 1990	600,000
US	Platinum	April 20, 1990	1,000,000

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.
• The 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 in the 2007 compilation tribute No Man's Woman.
• The classical girlband All Angels covered the song on their 2007 album Into Paradise. The music video for their version of the song currently has over half a million views on YouTube.
• 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.