When audiences first heard that “Nothing Compares 2 U” was penned by Prince, many mistakenly thought O’Connor was just another of his many protégés, and many still do. In fact, “Nothing Compares 2 U” wasn’t even known as a Prince song when she put it out, and it was never a major song in his repertoire. It was first recorded and released by one of his side projects, The Family, in 1985, and went absolutely nowhere. This was the same year O’Connor signed her recording contract with Ensign, before anyone outside of Ireland knew who she was.
Prince didn’t release his own version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” as a single until 1993—as a duet with Rosie Gaines, who actually was one of his protégés. This was three years after O’Connor put it on the map, it blew up, and it became her signature song. Prince played no part in mentoring her career, her decision to sing the song, its arrangement, its recording, or its release. All he did was cash the check for the songwriting royalties, a business transaction that entailed the personal involvement of neither party.
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