When Nothing Compares 2 U came out in early 1990, I was transfixed by the video. Her broken heart, pouring through her vocals and soul-ravaged face. It was a tremendous contrast to the early pop-rap and new jack swing on the airwaves. Sobering as a firecracker thrown in the middle of a early afternoon party, really.

Not a confession.

As much as I loved Nothing compares 2 U, which also made me re-evaluate Prince, the one track from I don’t want what I don’t have was The Emperor’s New Groove. A powerful video with O’Connor dancing alone on a stage, trembling with anticipation, but weaving and prancing as a light show from shiny curtains and mirrorballs escort her through. A classmate from junior high school used to bring her tape to study sessions and I usually requested he rewind to that song. He obliged, as he seemed to be fed up with everyone and their aunts just listening to the hit single and not this single.

I saw the SNL Pope photo ripping live, as it happened. My mom was shocked and angry, my dad was quiet, one of my brothers was just quiet and I was befuddled. What was happening? Since we didn’t have access to the internet in those days, it would take a couple of years until I found out the whole story. I really felt bad for her, getting disqualified and ostracised by “a stunt”. Call it a statement, dudes.

Daniel Day Lewis In the name of the father is a brutal film and I don’t revisit it often. It takes an emotional toll on me and I just can’t bear it. The soundtrack, however, is a keeper, and Sinead O’Connor’s You made me the thief of your heart pierced through me. It’s such a tremendous song, dynamic and full of introspection, with a sound that pre-dated the late 90s electronica/rock, trip hop smörgåsbord. O’Connor really belts out at the end, where the celtic instrumentation and the electronic drum kit galvanise together.

While I was living in Nottingham, Massive Attack released 100th Window, a superb album that often gets overlooked. Sinead O’Connor sings in two tracks, with A Prayer for England being a perfect way to test your speakers. It was a duet that worked so perfectly it’s a shame we never got more.

I was walking the streets of Trondheim in the summer of 2023 when I heard the news of Sinead O’Connor passing away. It was a shock, and it felt like an insult seeing so many media pundits who once derided her or made fun of her to celebrate her life. Buncha lying bastards. Me? I sat down on my hotel room, sweating like a hog after walking a good 25 km or so, eating while watching a mauve, pink, and purple sunset. I blasted all her tracks that I loved, and even if it wasn’t my #1 song by her, The Emperor’s New Clothes got a few spins. Night fell on the coastal Norwegian town, the bars started belting Nothing Compares 2 U on repeat, on karaoke, and on and on. I drifted away, with the uncharacteristic warm breeze, thinking of an artist that dared to speak her truth at every occasion, and got punished for it.

-Sam J. Valdés López