Sinéad O’Connor – Banshee, Bold One, A Way Of Happening, A Mouth
...Mad Ireland hurt you into poetry... W.H. Auden
UPDATE: Thursday, 21st January 2024
On Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, “Sinéad & Shane at Carnegie Hall,” was held in honor of O’Connor and Shane MacGowan who both died last year. A standout of the evening was Sinéad's daughter, Roisin Waters, 28, rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Waters urged the audience to sing along before launching into her mother’s classic 1990 hit.
Sinéad O'Connor's Daughter Covers Nothing Compares 2 U in Emotional Tributewww.youtube.com
UPDATE: Wednesday, 10th January 2024
The official verdict’s been announced: Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor died of natural causes, according to a report in the New York Times. The powerhouse performer was found dead in her London apartment in July 2023. No other details have been released.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, O’Connor was no stranger to controversy, and she courted a great deal of it during her time in the limelight – circa l987-95. American Songwriter describes a famous altercation: “One of the many ways she asserted her integrity was when she refused to have the national anthem play before her show at Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, New York, in 1990 – much to the dismay of Frank Sinatra.” O’Connor told reporters she had nothing against America or its national anthem; in fact, she had nothing against any national anthem – she just didn’t believe they had anything to do with music or politics.
The aging Sinatra – another brash singer with strong opinions – had a few words for O’Connor, allegedly telling an audience of his own, “This must be one stupid broad. I’d kick her ass if she were a guy. She must beat her kids to stay in shape. ” It’s easy to guess what the Italian-American Catholic from Hoboken must have thought when, in one of O’Connor’s career-defining moments, she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II during a 1992 appearance on Saturday Night Live.
“Fight the real enemy,” Sinéad said.
Sinead O'Connor - War (SNL 1992)www.youtube.com
Her career never really recovered from that incident, but O’Connor chose to look at things from her own unique perspective. In her 2021 memoirRememberings, she wrote: That’s not how I feel about it. I feel that having a number-one record derailed my career and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track.” However one chooses to interpret the aftermath of the Papal picture-tearing, one thing is clear.
Sinéad was right. She wasright about the Catholic Church and its systemic sexual abuse. She was right about the veil of secrecy thrown over the subject, right about the ways in which the perpetrators were protected and the victims demonized. Having been abused herself, Sinead knew steps had to be taken to stop abuse and punish abusers.
Was Sinéad drastic, headstrong, not deferential enough? Tough. She realized – like Ol’ BlueEyes – that it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. And, in the end, neither of them was interested in being forgiven. Understood, yes – but not forgiven.
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UPDATE: Wednesday, 9th August 2023
On Tuesday, August 8th, Sinéad O'Connor was buried in Bray, Co Wicklow, Ireland.
The Gardai [Irish Police] asked "that people gather, if they would like to say a last goodbye to Sinéad from 10.30am on Tuesday morning along the Bray Seafront.” Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor's former home of Bray for her funeral.
On Monday, August 7, a larger-than-life installation paying tribute to the late singer appeared on an Irish hillside in Bray, the town where her funeral was held.
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UPDATE: Thursday, 27th July 2023
You’ve heard the news by now...Irish Singer and Musician Sinéad O’Connor is dead at the age of 56.
On Thursday, a Scotland Yard spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that "a 56-year-old woman was found ‘unresponsive’ and pronounced dead" at a home in South East London a day prior. “The death is not being treated as suspicious," the spokesperson said.
There’s no medical cause of death given for O’Connor. According to London Inner South Coroner’s Court, an autopsy is now set to be carried out, and may not be available for several weeks.
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Born in Ireland in 1966, O’Connor tasted worldwide fame in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” For many, that remains her best-known song. For others, it’s only one glittering example of the passion and intensity she brought to her music. Her talent was undeniable. So, it turned out, were the demons that haunted her, that drove her from country to country, rock to folk to reggae, religion to belief system to religion.
Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (Live in Europe 1990)www.youtube.com
For a while, music served as a means of expressing and assuaging her turmoil, rage, and her pain. Those first two incandescent albums, The Lion and The Cobra (1987) and I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), are her essential artistic legacy, along with the earth-shattering “Fire on Babylon,” a 13-minute love/hate song to her mother, Ireland, our great spinning planet.
Sinéad O'Connor - Fire on Babylon- Live - Pinkpop 1995www.youtube.com
In these majestic works, O’Connor wrestles with, mocks, implores, supplicates, and embodies her demons, and her struggle is nothing less than exhilarating. And, yes, inspiring.
Controversy followed her. When she pointed an accusatory finger at the Catholic Church’s systemic and shameful sexual abuse of children, she suffered the fate of so many truthtellers before her and was pilloried. Familial and institutional abuse (at the hands of her mother and during her time in Ireland’s infamous Magdalene Laundries); the widespread sexism of the music industry; the profoundly disrupting “benefits” of fame – all took a toll on her career and on her well-being.
She’d be the first to admit her lifelong battle with mental health issues. That’s why the news of her death, sad as it is, is not entirely unexpected. She’d been drawn to suicidal ideation on more than one occasion; her seventeen-year-old son Shane killed himself last year. I won’t be surprised if the cause of her death is ultimately revealed as suicide. The price exacted by mental illness – and by society’s unwillingness to acknowledge its existence – is truly staggering.
Sinead O'Connor Photo by Sebastian Silva (EPA/Shutterstock)
In the autumn of 1987, the “Troy” video completely blasted MTV’s bland, quotidian fare. Who was this raw, rare, unconventional figure? Just what was Sinead’s torrent of gorgeous, angry, apocalyptic sound all about? Where did it come from? And where will it take the world?
Sinead O'Connor - Troy (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com
W. H Auden’s poem “In Memory of W. B. Yeats” contains these lines:
...Mad Ireland hurt you into poetry.
Now Ireland has her madness and her weather still,
For poetry makes nothing happen: it survives
In the valley of its making where executives
Would never want to tamper, flows on south
From ranches of isolation and the busy griefs,
Raw towns that we believe and die in; it survives,
A way of happening, a mouth.
One hopes the hurt has ended. O’Connor’s poetry survives, a way of happening, a mouth.
We at Popdust adore Sinead. She's been a beacon through the hard times, the tough days. This one’s for...the Mighty Kevin.
For Em Beihold, the intention was never to become a popstar. It was never on her radar that she'd tour (spoiler alert: she's currently touring), she never dreamt that millions of fans would stream her music (they do), or that she'd even be recording her songs.
Music has called for Em Beihold her entire life. It started when she saw a piano in the window and begged her parents to buy it for her. They'd let her, but only if she practiced. Em admitted with a laugh that she wasn't very good,
"I started playing the piano when I was 6 because I thought cool kids played instruments," Beihold confesses. "So I started with classical music and then got bored and wanted to see where the notes would go."
From there, the piano evolved into not only an instrument to conquer but a tool to help Em explore the world of music. After working with a teacher, who showed her the world of writing and introduced her ears to artists like Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple, the rest just fell into place.
"Growing up, the piano felt like my therapy, my journal, my closest friend."
As Em continued to grow up teaching music, she dreamt of making sync songs until she graduated high school (from her living room, she adds) during the pandemic in 2020. But everything changes with the rise of TikTok, an app capable of making your dreams come true and ruining the dreams of others.
Relatably, Beihold admits that she joined TikTok because her crush was posting at the time. But beyond a bit of doom-scrolling on her crush's account, Em quickly realized that this app leveled the playing field. Unlike YouTube, she mentions, you didn't need a certain amount of followers to get a certain amount of views. Game on.
"I secretly wanted to be an artist, but never let myself say it because I didn't think it was feasible. I never dreamt that I'd be going on tour or anything like that."
It didn't take long for the world to fall in love with Em Beihold's bitingly honest lyricism, her crisp vocal range that transcends timelessness, and her natural talent of writing what we're all feeling.
When she released her first major label debut single, "Numb Little Bug", which delves into her struggles of feeling nothing while on anti-depressants, fans were instantly captivated by her candid approach to mental health. But the success of "Numb Little Bug" didn't mean Em wanted to be pigeonholed into becoming the poster child for mental health music.
"When 'Numb Little Bug' came out, I was always bracing for the fall,"
After watching it climb to a million streams on Spotify in less than a day, Beihold remembers being frantic about it. While viral moments are amazing, she tells me how it can be hard to keep up with them when kicking off her career. But, nonetheless, 2022 was booked from there on out.
She tells me how she's always written about what she's feeling- there's no intention to be funny, or brutally honest, or mean- it's just whatever is coming out at the time. One thing is for sure: Em Beihold's music is deserving of the pop-stardom she didn't allow herself to dream of...and it's why she earned opening spots for acts like AJR, King Princess, and Lewis Capaldi. It's especially why she's in the midst of her very own headline tour.
Her music led her to other artists like Lauren Spencer Smith and GAYLE, where they created what Em refers to as "Bang Bang Part Two" with their hit song "Fantasy." The song's a scathing breakup anthem- written in LA by the trio as they talked about boys and scrolled through Instagram- Beihold shares that the session was special because it didn't feel like they were really writing a track, just hanging out.
Aside from her own music, she hopped on Stephen Sanchez's hit track, "Until I Found You"- a dreamy, nostalgic blend of their two voices on a timeless love song. She admits that she doesn't write about love very much, so when she went to write her verse, she was surprised to find it happened in less than a day.
They had created the song without meeting, coming together for the first time to perform at the Moroccan Lounge. The song worked so well that fans continue to speculate the pair are dating (despite the fact that she has a boyfriend who isn't Sanchez).
But her new music is where she shines the most, where she's on her own and staying true to her songwriting. She credits a team that helps uplift her abilities and allowt her shine in areas she's strong in. With a plethora of instruments in her repertoire including the ukulele, the piano, the guitar, and more, Beihold can continue to surprise us with her music.
Her most recent single, "Maybe Life Is Good", is a bit of a sonic shift for her: it's upbeat, a pop number with a hint of rock, about dreaming of better days. Written during a rough patch in Beihold's life, the song was more of an aspiration than a reality at the time of writing. You can listen to the song here:
"'Maybe Life Is Good' was a bit of a lifeline. I was writing about what, at the time, wasn't what I was feeling- which was optimism and positivity. So writing that song was a life vest for me."
As for the future, Em Beihold is currently on her very own Maybe Life Is Good tour, where $1 per ticket will go towards Active Minds, an organization that brings mental health services to college campuses, and there will be stands set up at every show. She teases surprise guests, special songs, and an overall amazing time.
Throughout this interview, Em Beihold has been humble, thoughtful, and insightful, which is exactly reflected in her music. As she rises further into popstardom, it'll be no surprise.
For the first time in years, I decided to watch The Bachelor.Maybe it's because my friends were talking about it incessantly and I have a severe case of FOMO. Maybe it's because I felt contractually obligated to write about something related to television and pop culture. Either way, I locked in for Season 28 led by Joey Graziadei, who the internet has spent the past year fawning over.
But here's the thing: I genuinely have grown to vehemently dislike just about everyone in this show. As a 25-year-old woman, I'm appalled by the behavior ofeveryone (including you, Joey). Last night's Women Tell All episode left me with one consistent question: were the women aware which show they signed up for?
@mygetawaycar13 women tell all 🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️
♬ VA VA VOOM - Nightcore Revival
Beginning with Kelsey Anderson, who made it all the way to the final three and realized she might not be okay with him seeing other women. This is a similar problem that Maria Gorgas had, who essentially sent herself home via an epic self-sabotage attempt that resulted in her being deemed the people's princess. However, I have my qualms with Gorgas as well.
Maria had her issues with Lea and Sydney among others, who respectively seemed more focused on fighting with other women in the house than talking to Joey. But this entire season, Maria's been complaining or talking over someone, or talking herself out of being on the show. So I'm having trouble seeing why people find her inability to communicate impressive.
She started struggling beyond the inner-household issues when she realized she didn't want to see Joey date a bunch of women. Sound familiar? Again, you all signed up to go on a show with 30 women and you're angry he's cheating on you? I understand why she'd want to be the next Bachelorette- the reverse is a much better situation.
@bachelor.tok this gotta be the weirdest drama in bachelor history #thebachelor #thebachelorette #bachelornation #thebachelorabc #fyp #CapCut ♬ original sound - Bachelor Tok
Once a dying franchise, ABC somehow has revived The Bachelor with successful spinoffs like The Golden Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise. Yet, the thing about the show is that it's a weird concept. These engagements hardly last, mostly because you get to know your future spouse within the span of three months...and in that span of time they've been dating many other people. Ideal.