Two years after the massive success of I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, Sinéad O’Connor blew up her career in spectacular fashion.
Critics and audiences were perplexed by her third album, 1992’s Am I Not Your Girl?, a collection of cover versions of standards. This is the sort of album artists usually put out deep into their careers, often to satisfy a contractual obligation. It’s certainly not what you expect from the follow-up to a ground-breaking and star-making release.
Three years after her debut, Sinéad O’Connor was catapulted to a level of success she never expected or wanted. Her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, went multi-platinum on the strength of hit single ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’
That song, a cover of a Prince tune written for his side project The Family, spent four weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and made O’Connor a household name. Her gorgeous rendition, accompanied by an inescapable video depicting her beautiful, crying face against a black background, was the top song in the world through the winter of 1990.
Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor passed away last week, ending a chaotic, troubled life and robbing us of one of popular music’s most distinctive and beautiful voices.
I’ve given O’Connor a decent amount of coverage on the blog in the past, but now is a sadly appropriate time to give her a proper deep dive, featuring songs from each of her 10 studio albums. Consider the next two weeks my tribute to a unique and special talent we lost way too soon.
I’m developing a theory that the Hot 100 over the last two decades has been a lot more stagnant than in previous years. In other words, fewer songs are spending a longer amount of time in the upper echelons of the chart.
I’m basing this admittedly half-baked idea on the fact that the 2013 edition of Throwback Thursdays has produced the most repeats by far. Just take a look at the chart on the week of July 27, 2013.
Throwing back to the week of July 26, 2003, we find Beyoncé in the #1 spot with ‘Crazy in Love,’ her second single and first to top the Hot 100. I featured ‘Crazy in Love’ all the way back at Song of the Day #139, so sadly I can’t revisit it here.
That brings us to #2, where Lil’ Kim and 50 Cent pair up on ‘Magic Stick.’ The song spent a total of 24 weeks on the chart but never made it higher than the second slot, unable to best Beyoncé.
Meet Me In Montauk 