Nothing Compares 2 U

Last updated

"Nothing Compares 2 U"
Nothingcompares2u.jpg
Single by Sinéad O'Connor
from the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
B-side "Jump in the River"
Released8 January 1990 [1]
Studio S.T.S (Dublin, Ireland)
Genre
Length5:10
Label Chrysalis
Songwriter(s) Prince
Producer(s)
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

Background

"Nothing Compares 2 U" was written by the American musician Prince, who recorded a demo in 1984. In 1985, Prince's funk band the Family released their sole studio album, The Family, including "Nothing Compares 2 U". It was not released as a single and received little recognition. Prince's demo was released in 2018. [5]

Recording

The Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor recorded a version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" for her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990), with a new arrangement by her and the producer Nellee Hooper. O'Connor's version is in the key of F major. [6]

Music video

The lone face of O'Connor made the video one of the most recognisable of the 1990s. NothingCompares2U.PNG
The lone face of O'Connor made the video one of the most recognisable of the 1990s.

Concept

Directed by John Maybury, the music video consists mostly of a closeup of O'Connor's face as she goes through stages of sadness and anger while singing the lyrics; the rest consists of her walking through the Parc de Saint-Cloud in Paris. Toward the end of the video, two tears roll down her face, one on each cheek. O'Connor has said that her tears were real. She did not intend to cry but then thought, "I should let this happen." [7] She explained that the tears were triggered by thoughts of her mother, who died in a car accident in 1985. [7] She said she learned to channel her emotions with the "bel canto" singing style, which she compared to extreme acting methods. [8] 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 video won three "Moonmen" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards: Video of the Year (O'Connor was the first female artist to be awarded 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 was also the subject of 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. [9]

Response

Commercial

O'Connor's version was a worldwide hit, topping charts in O'Connor's native Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States (plus top five in France). It was certified platinum in Austria and in the United Kingdom, and gold in Germany and in Sweden.

In the United States it spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100; in addition, it was number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and reached number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (held off the top position by Rod Stewart's "This Old Heart of Mine" for three weeks). In terms of its chart performance on the Hot 100 it ranked number three for 1990. In April 1990, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. On the second of its four weeks at number one, the record's parent album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got started a six-week run at number one on the Billboard 200. In 2019, the single ranked 97 in a Hot 100 60th-anniversary Top 600 covering the period from 1958 to 2018.

In the United Kingdom the single ranked number two for the year, behind a re-release of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody". [10] In July 2023, days after O'Connor's death, "Nothing Compares 2 U" reappeared on the UK Top 100 at number 45, [11] and charted at number 1 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. [12]

Critical

"A few times each year a song comes along that deserves extra-special recognition. Here's the first such entry of 1990. Since I've been shouting the praises of Sinéad's remarkable interpretation of this Prince-penned tune to many of you for over a month, it was safe to assume it would eventually end up on this page. Absolutely brilliant—and if you haven't caught the video, do yourself a favor and check it out NOW!"

—Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report talking about the song. [13]

O'Connor's version received mostly positive reviews. Jodi Cleesattle from American Eagle felt that "there is pain in Sinéad O'Connor's voice, and there probably always will be". She remarked that "loneliness and longing" are highlighted on the song, adding that O'Connor's voice "fits the song perfectly. Her vocals soar and leap unexpectedly but gracefully, making, the ballad, the loveliest of love songs." [14] Bill Coleman from Billboard declared it as a "brilliant interpretation of the melancholic lament." [15] Ernest Hardy from Cashbox called it a "genuine tear-jerker". [16]

Greg Sandow for Entertainment Weekly felt that it is a song "about how to carry on after losing love". [17] Tom Moon from Knight Ridder said she "adapts the breathy approach of a torch singer." [18] A reviewer from Los Angeles Times noted that the singer "match raw emotion with spare sounds" on "the quiet, desperate, lovelorn beauty". [19] Melody Maker wrote, "It should go without saying that her voice is brilliant, but this is a pointless and embarrassing over-sentimental paw. The zillions of strings don't help, they don't add poignancy, they merely serve to drag the momentum backwards. [...] A waste of talent." [20]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that out of all the recent covers of Prince songs – Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You", Tom Jones' "Kiss" and Simple Minds' "Sign o' the Times" – "this is definitely the most convincing." The reviewer noted further that originally recorded by Minneapolis band the Family for their 1985 debut album, "O'Connor's emotionally charged version has immediate appeal", and is "destined to be her biggest hit to date." [21] David Giles from Music Week found that the song "is not one of Prince's finest moments, and O'Connor does little to disguise this fact bar a few token vocal somersaults. The string synths also have a dirge-like effect, dragging the rest of the arrangement along with them." [22]

The Network Forty's reviewer wrote that "when Sinéad sang 'Nothing Compares 2 U', seas calmed, angels wept and Top 40 radio stood still to listen to this powerful expression of unrequited love." [23] James Brown from NME said, "Pining for a recently departed love, Sinéad hits the lyrics with an immense range of vocal ability and passion. From a gossamer thin whisper to a searing plea she shows just how much catching up Kate Bush has to do." [24] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits felt that "it doesn't sound at all like any of her other stuff." [25]

Retrospective

In 2019, Bill Lamb from About.com wrote that O'Connor's "emotional, gutsy performance made it a classic. Painful loss meets stunning vocal beauty with a perfectly understated instrumental arrangement." [26] In their 2020 retrospective review, Matthew Hocter from Albumism described it as a song "deeply rooted in emotion and despair which would go on to certify O'Connor and that song as one of music history's most unforgettable moments." [27] AllMusic editor Steve Huey called the song "stunning" and noted its "remarkable intimacy". [28]

In 2010, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger noted it as a "very moving track", and added that it "captures the stasis, anger and devastation of a bad break-up with awful accuracy." He also complimented the music "whose stately, sympathetic pulse gives O’Connor the canvas she needs to be so devastating." [29] In an 2000 review, Steven Wells from NME said "it remains one of the best 'boo-hoo, my bloke's left me' pop songs ever recorded", and a "stark reminder that O'Connor is blessed with an amazing and unique voice". He concluded with that it "remains the outstanding highlight of her career to date. She's more than capable of surpassing it in the future. Less Sade and more Aretha, please." [30]

In 2009, Mark Richardson from Pitchfork stated that "you have to look pretty hard to find a better expression in pop music of the void that exists when a relationship ends." [31] In an 2015 retrospective review, Pop Rescue wrote that O'Connor "makes light work" of the track, and she's "having plenty of power to belt out the lyrics at the right points." The reviewer added that it is a "fantastic exhibit of 90s music". [32] In 2004, Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine felt that it perhaps is O'Connor's "greatest vocal achievement" and described it as a "classic torch song she quite simply owns." [33]

Prince versions

In 1993, Prince released a live version of "Nothing Compares 2 U", with Rosie Gaines on guest vocals, on his compilation album The Hits/The B-Sides . This version reached number seven on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in 1993 [34] and number 66 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the Billboard issue dated January 15, 1994. [35] Following Prince's death in 2016, this version reached number 43 on the US Digital Songs Sales chart [36] and number 31 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart. [37] Prince also recorded a solo version for his concert film Rave Un2 the Year 2000 , and for his 2002 live album One Nite Alone... Live! .[ citation needed ]

Prince's 1984 demo (albeit in newly mixed form by Tony Maserati) [38] was released as a single in 2018 by Warner Bros. Records in conjunction with his estate. [5] It was accompanied by a music video, consisting of edited rehearsal footage shot in mid-1984. [39] [40] The single reached number 21 on the US Hot R&B Songs chart [41] and number eight on the US R&B Digital Song Sales chart in 2018. [42] It was included as the final track on Prince's 2019 posthumous compilation Originals.

Personnel (1984 version)

Credits sourced from Duane Tudahl and Guitarcloud [43] [44]

Legacy

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Charts

Ireland chart history

"Nothing Compares 2 U" entered the Irish singles chart on January 11, 1990, reaching number one two weeks later. After a six-week run at the top, Sinéad O'Connor was replaced by "Love Shack" by the B-52's. The song left the chart on March 29, after twelve weeks.

UK chart history

In the UK Top 100 chart dated January 20, 1990, the single entered at number 30, then rocketed to number three, then to number one, where it stayed for four weeks, holding off a twin challenge from dance acts Technotronic and Black Box. The single slipped to number two in the chart dated March 3, replaced at the top by "Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International. "Nothing Compares 2 U" completed its twelve-week run within the UK Top 40 in early April. "Nothing Compares 2 U" was Britain's biggest-selling new recording of 1990, ranking number two in the year-end chart behind a re-release of the Righteous Brothers' 1965 hit "Unchained Melody".

US chart history

The single entered the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 at number 33, in the issue dated March 24, 1990. "Nothing Compares 2 U" rose steadily over the next four weeks – no doubt bolstered by the increasing exposure of the song's video on MTV – before reaching number one in the issue dated April 21. The single took just six weeks to reach number one – tied with Madonna's "Vogue" and New Kids on the Block's "Step by Step" as the year's fastest climber to the top. It spent four weeks at number one, as it did in the UK, with Jane Child's "Don't Wanna Fall in Love" and Calloway's "I Wanna Be Rich" stuck at number two.[ citation needed ] Madonna's "Vogue" replaced "Nothing Compares 2 U" at number one. The single spent ten weeks in the Top Ten – one of only four 1990 releases to do so – and finished its 15-week run in the US Top 40 in late June.

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for "Nothing Compares 2 U"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [110] 2× Platinum140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria) [111] Platinum50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [112] Gold45,000
Germany (BVMI) [113] Gold250,000^
Italy (FIMI) [114]
sales since 2009
Gold35,000
Netherlands175,000 [115]
New Zealand (RMNZ) [116] Platinum30,000
Sweden (GLF) [117] Platinum50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [118]
1990 sales + post 1994 sales
Platinum1,457,384 [119] [120]
United States (RIAA) [121]
1990 sales
Platinum1,000,000^
United States
digital sales
1,015,608 [122]
Summaries
Worldwide
1990 sales
3,500,000 [123]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for "Nothing Compares 2 U"
CountryRelease date
United KingdomJanuary 8, 1990
VariousFebruary 4, 1990
United StatesFebruary 11, 1990

See also

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