The track, originally written by Prince in 1985, was made famous by the Irish singer when she recorded it for her second studio album ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’ in 1990. 2 years later, whilst fans were expecting the song to be performed by O’Connor on SNL, the singer famously staged a protest against the Catholic Church where she performed Bob Marley’s 1976 track ‘War’ a cappella. She then held up a picture of Pope John Paul II that she ripped into pieces as she declared “Fight the real enemy”. She later on shared that the protest act was a move to call out sexual abuse happening in the Catholic Church. Neither Miley nor Brittany referenced the event at the celebration.

The Irish singer-songwriter converted to Islam in 2018. In her memoir Rememberings released in 2021, she shares: “I’ve done only one holy thing in my life and that was sing. The Koran is like a song” and God “an incredible songwriter. The language and intelligence of the call to prayer led me to listen to the Koran. The language and intelligence of the call to prayer led me to listen to the Koran”. She was well-known for her ever-present openness in activism and socio-cultural issues, throughout her career, she used her platform to draw awareness to HIV/AIDs, campaigned on pro-choice issues and abortion rights, and showed her support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Remembering the moment that would make history, record label executive Daniel Glass said: “when she did War, and she ripped the picture of the pope. I will never forget it. Everybody froze at SNL. The music producer Liz Welch went from jubilation to tears. No one stopped it, no one knew what to do. We walked back to the artist’s dressing room. I don’t think she knew what she just had just done. The magnitude of it. She was in a room by herself which was kind of sad and lonely, because it was a heavy moment in history.”

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Cyrus and Howard belted the song whilst letting their voice melt into one another as the Alabama Shake front woman added soulfulness to the tune with her guitar riffs and the Tennessee born singer added some of her well-known rasp to the tune. The artists choice of song was a sweet nod to the notorious performance that got Sinéad O’Connor banned from the show.

Cyrus moved on to sing her famous hit ‘Flowers’ from her 2023 album ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ and a rendition of Queen’s song ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.

You can catch all the skits and performances over at the official SNL YouTube Channel.

Sinéad O’Connor reportedly told her children to “milk” her music “for what it’s worth” in her will. According to records obtained by The Sun, O’Connor also left her family £1.4million, with her ex-husband, music producer John Reynolds, chosen as the executor of the estate.

O’Connor passed away age 56, on July 26, 2023, when she was found unresponsive in her home by police. The cause of death was later revealed to be asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In 2013, in a document signed before her conversion to Islam, the Irish singer-songwriter made her wishes clear regarding her unreleased recordings, hoping that her family could get money for all its worth.

The document reportedly reads: “I direct that after my death, and at the discretion of any of my children who are then over 18, my albums are to be released so as to ‘milk it for what it’s worth.’”

It also requested that she be buried in priest clothing, with a copy of the Hebrew Bible and her 2007 album ‘Theology’. Representatives for O’Connor’s family have not yet commented on The Sun‘s report.

Sinead left the sum of £1.7million to her children. Irish probate records state that the estate was reduced to £1.4million after covering Sinead’s debts, funeral costs and legal fees.

Before the outspoken singer died in 2023, her son tragically took his own life the year before. The body of Shane O’Connor, 17, was found in a secluded area at the back of a housing estate outside of Bray, Co Wicklow on January 7, 2022. He was dealing with mental health struggles at the time and was placed on suicide watch.

The grief led to Sinéad admitting herself to hospital to receive help for her own mental health struggles. Her ex-partner has claimed that the singer “died from a broken heart” after her son passed away.

After her death, she was laid to rest in a ceremony in Bray in August 2023. Bob Geldof and U2 stars Bono and The Edge attended her funeral alongside her friends and family. Thousands of mourners lined the streets, paying their respects. Upon her passing, many tributes came in from stars like Garbage, Michael Stipe, Ice-T and Billy Corgan.

Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.. https://t.co/3nbO3w22zv

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 26, 2023

In March last year, Sinéad’s daughter gave an emotional rendition of her mother’s most famous song, “Nothing Compares 2 U”. The performance took place at Carnegie Hall in New York, at a tribute concert for O’Connor and The Pogues Shane MacGowan.

The song, originally written and released by Prince, was recorded for her second album, ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’. The moving arrangement and simple but powerful music video took the world by storm, topping the charts in many countries and becoming the third best-selling single of 1990. Considered by many publications to be one of the best songs of all time, the classic track and her other releases keep O’Connor’s legacy alive.

‘Sopranos’ star #MichaelImperioli defends ex-Smith’s frontman #Morrissey https://t.co/APGIP9pi9g

— Far Out Cinema (@FarOutCinema) August 11, 2023

Fans will be most familiar with Imperioli’s role as Christopher Moltisanti in what many critics call one of the greatest TV series of all time, The Sopranos. But the American actor has also proven adept at music, playing guitar and providing lead vocals for his band Zopa- releasing one studio record to date titled, La Dolce Vita.

The actor has now voiced his support of Morrissey, who is no stranger to making headlines himself, often for all the wrong reasons-being, in the past, accused of racism and bigotry. Imperioli still considers himself a staunch fan and defended the musician in a recent interview with The Guardian.

Imperioli said about Morrissey, “he’s uncompromising and very true to his art, to himself. As a lyricist, he’s on the level of Bob Dylan and Lou Reed to me: his intelligence, his wit and point of view. I think that’s why so many people connect to him, people who feel like outsiders. When they hear his lyrics and see him perform, they feel less alone in the world.”

Imperioli was introduced to bands like The Smiths when he was a young teenager living in Manhattan and attending acting courses. Bands like The Smiths provided him with a sense of freedom to express himself in a large city where it was easy to get lost in the crowd.

The actor, who appeared on the dark comedy anthology series The White Lotus, described Morrissey as being abandoned by the music industry in a not too dissimilar way to O’Connor who also courted controversy throughout her career. Imperioli said, “I thought what he wrote about Sinead O’Connor was spot on and brilliant-how easily she was abandoned by the music industry. He was as well….He’s on the edge of controversy a lot and they shy away from that. I’m not sure how racist the things he said were. To me they weren’t flagrantly racist….I still give him the benefit of the doubt. I know a lot of people don’t, but somehow I still do.”

Steven Patrick Morrissey, known mononymously, rose to fame as the frontman for legendary 80s act The Smiths. Acrimony between Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr led to the band’s split and to the successful solo careers of both artists.

Since 2022, Morrissey has had a turbulent relationship with Capitol Records-claiming the label had dropped him after his support for the far-right, anti-Islam political party For Britain came to light. In 2019, the artist was seen wearing a badge for the group during a live performance on Jimmy Fallon. Capitol has thus far declined to release his latest album Bonfire Of Teenagers, although Morrissey has announced that he finished a new album in 2023 titled Without Music The World Dies and is looking for a label to distribute it.

O’Connor’s music was streamed 243,000 times from July 24-25, before that number rose to 7.3 million from July 26-27 following the sad news of her death at age 56. Her famous cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” racked up 3.2 million streams alone during the week and amassed an additional 10,000 downloads. UK statistics are yet to be released.

Listen to “Nothing Compares 2 U” below:

The Irish musician and activist was found unresponsive at her London home on July 26th and shortly thereafter pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have yet to disclose an official cause, but have ruled out any possibility of foul play.  

O’Connor, whose death comes 18 months after her 17-year-old son took his own life, had been publicly vocal about her mental health struggles and was hospitalised on her own volition in early 2022 after revealing suicidal thoughts in a string of since-deleted tweets.

Following the tragic news of the singer’s passing, tributes flooded in from all over the world, with many prominent music industry figures sharing touching messages on social media. Bryan Adams wrote: “RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family.”

RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family. pic.twitter.com/49ryuIhGTQ

— Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) July 26, 2023

Ian Brown also reminisced about his shared experiences with the singer, a woman he deemed a “beautiful soul”.

RiP SiNEAD O’CONNOR A Beautiful Soul. Hearin Collaborating with and hearing Sinead sing my songs in the studio in Dublin was magical and a highlight of my musical life. A Beautiful soul LOVE TO HER FAMILY X

— Ian Brown (@ianbrown) July 26, 2023

Morrissey and Lily Allen, however, criticised their peers, condemning the empty platitudes offered up by personalities who hadn’t supported O’Connor while she was alive. 

It’s hard not to feel incensed when there are so many people posting about Sinead and how fearless she was, people who would never in a million years align themselves with with anybody who stood for something or had anything remotely controversial to say. It’s so spineless. If…

— Lily Allen (@lilyallen) July 30, 2023

Allen recently took to Twitter to express her dismay at the “spineless” tributes posted by people who only empathised with the Irish singer in death, while the former Smiths frontman released a lengthy message on his website:

“[…] The cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinéad today…with the usual moronic labels of ‘icon’ and ‘legend’. You praise her now only because it is too late. You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you. […] Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queuing-up to call her a ‘feminist icon’, and 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber. […]”

Never one to shy away from controversy, O’Connor was known for her outspoken nature and strong beliefs, consistently bringing attention to issues such as child abuse and women’s rights. In 1992, she famously tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on the TV show Saturday Night Live, in protest of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Although the stunt attracted much criticism, O’Connor remained undeterred in her activism – in her 2021 memoir she declared that it was more important for her to be a protest singer than a successful pop star.

Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor – whose hit Nothing Compares 2 U propelled her to worldwide fame – dies aged 56https://t.co/Y5fylNGpq4

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 26, 2023

O’Connor, perhaps best known for her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” struggled with the loss of her son, who died while on suicide watch at Tallaght Hospital. O’Connor was publicly vocal about the mental health struggles that she suffered due to the loss of custody of her son and in her last tweet, expressed how lost she felt without him.

In a statement given to the media, her family said, “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.” O’Connor is survived by her three children. O’Connor’s fellow artists took to social media to share their condolences and pay tribute to the singer.

pic.twitter.com/6iscpvpjzJ — Massive Attack (@MassiveAttackUK) July 26, 2023

Heavy hearted at the loss of Sinead O’Connor. Wanted to reach out to her often but didn’t.I remember her launch. Astounding presence.Voice that cracked stone with force & by increment. As beautiful as any girl around & never traded on that card. I Loved that about her. Iconoclast

— Alison Moyet (@AlisonMoyet) July 26, 2023

RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family. pic.twitter.com/49ryuIhGTQ — Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) July 26, 2023

Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.. https://t.co/3nbO3w22zv

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 26, 2023

RiP SiNEAD O’CONNOR A Beautiful Soul. Hearin Collaborating with and hearing Sinead sing my songs in the studio in Dublin was magical and a highlight of my musical life. A Beautiful soul LOVE TO HER FAMILY X — Ian Brown (@ianbrown) July 26, 2023

I am gutted by the loss of #SineadOConnor .

She was the warrior poet I expected her to be — wise and visionary, but also hilarious. She and I laughed a lot. We were writing new songs together, which will now never be complete.

We’ve all lost an icon. I’ve lost a friend. #RIP

— Bear McCreary (@bearmccreary) July 26, 2023

When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights. We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad. — Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) July 26, 2023

You were so loved by so many #SineadOConnor

This video was taken just 4 months ago at the @choiceprize awards in Dublin and the atmosphere in the room when Sinéad took to the stage was just electric

I’m sorry the world was so cruel to you.
Rest in Power Irish Princess pic.twitter.com/TfnKMl9Q2f

— Siobhán McAndrew (@Shiv_Mc_A) July 26, 2023

Born in Dublin, Ireland, O’Connor released her debut album The Lion And The Cobra in 1987 to popular acclaim but it was her follow up, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got that made her a household name- propelling her into superstardom. The album contained her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The song, written by Prince, was the second single to feature from the album and became a worldwide smash hit.

The album also highlighted O’Connor ‘s ability as a singer, garnering praise for her vocal approach and style. Many publications and commentators also noted her rebellious appearance of shaved head, serious expression and loose fitting clothes. Throughout the late 90s and 2000s, O’Connor continued to release music and contribute as a guest artist on various records although O’Connor’s appeal waned somewhat, despite releasing new albums- much of which also won critical praise.

Known for her brazen and unreserved honesty about her spirituality, activism and mental health struggles-the singer never shied away from controversy, famously tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on the TV show Saturday Night Live. A member of Sinn Fein, O’Connor was a supporter of a united Ireland.

By 2014, O’Connor had released ten studio albums and was reportedly working on a new record, No Veteran Dies Alone. In 2021, O’Connor released a memoir called Rememberings to high critical acclaim with the BBC naming it one of the best books of the year.

In 2017, O’Connor officially changed her name to Magda Davitt, citing her wish to break with patriarchal traditions. She also went on to convert to Islam one year later, changing her name a second time to Shuhada Sadaqat and stating that it was a natural progression for an intelligent theologian.