The music world mourned the loss of Sinead O'Connor, an iconic vocalist known for her emotional poignancy and fierce independence. Just hours after the news of her passing at age 56, P!nk found a touching way to pay tribute to the late singer during the first U.S. date of her Summer Carnival tour.
In a poignant moment, P!nk shared a personal story with the crowd, recalling her childhood days when she would visit the Ocean City Boardwalk with dreams of making it big in the music industry. She would record demo tapes, and two of her favorite songs to imagine singing were Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All" and O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U."
With O'Connor's recent passing in mind, P!nk decided to honor her by inviting her talented friend Brandi Carlile to join her onstage and perform "Nothing Compares 2 U" together. The song, penned by Prince, is a heart-wrenching love ballad that showcases O'Connor's incredible vocal abilities and emotional depth.
You can see the performance below.
Pink said:
“When I was a little girl, my mom grew up in Atlantic City and I used to go down to the Ocean City Boardwalk with my ten dollars and I would make a demo tape… I would make a little cassette tape and imagine it was my demo for the record company."
“And it would always be either ‘Greatest Love of All’ by Whitney Houston or ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by Sinead O’Connor. So in honor of Sinead, and in honor of my very, very talented friend Brandi Carlile I asked her if she would come out here and sing this song with me.”
Fans loved the performance and joined the singers in honoring the late O'Connor.
The collaboration between P!nk and Carlile was not only a display of their vocal prowess but also a testament to the power of music to evoke emotions and connect people. The two artists sang with conviction and passion, making the song their own while honoring O'Connor's legacy.
Afterward, P!nk reminded her audience that you "never know what people are going through" and added that it's "not that hard to give people a smile… we’re all learning that lesson together now.”