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When Sinéad O’Connor’s SNL Performance Shocked the World
The singer’s protest ended her career, but she was right all along
Sinéad O’Connor was booked as the live musical act of Saturday Night Live at the height of her success. It was October of 92', less than two years after the release of her number 1 album, ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’, and the song that made her a worldwide sensation, her rendition of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. It was a stage fit for an artist of her caliber.
The Irish singer had two songs to perform that night. The first was ‘Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home’, a cover for Loretta Lynn’s ‘Success’. The second was an acapella version of Bob Marly’s “War”. This performance ended up changing her life and became part of television history.
Firstly, the visuality of this performance was striking. O’Connor was standing alone, with her signature shaved head, wearing a lace white dress. Candles lit all around her. It looked like a religious ceremony more than anything else really. O’Connor was looking directly at the camera — and thus directly at the viewers — with piercing eyes.
Those with sharp ears and knowledge of Bob Marly’s music could notice that O’Connor changed some of the lyrics. Instead of:
“And until the ignoble and…
