Sinead O’Connor’s Top Billboard Chart Hits

Sinead O’Connor, the emotive, iconoclastic Irish singer who topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1990 with a soul-crushing cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” had died at age 56. The singer-songwriter struggled with mental illness throughout her life, including PTSD, depression and suicidal tendencies. In 2022, her 17-year-old son Shane died by apparent suicide. O’Connor is survived by three children.

O’Connor debuted with The Lion and the Cobra in 1987 and released 10 studio albums over the course of her lifetime. Her second LP, 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, became an international smash thanks to the Prince cover as well as an assortment of alternative classics such as “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “Jump in the River” and “I Am Stretched on Your Grave.” The album topped the Billboard 200, a chart she last appeared on with what would turn out to be her final studio set, I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss. Speaking to Billboard around the time of that 2014 album, O’Connor said, “The day it dawns on you that [the music business] is pimps and hos — and that you’ve been the ho and didn’t even realize it — can be a bit head-wrecking.” She also added that she was in the process of learning how to “love yourself,” saying, “Sometimes we have to find out by f—ing up. You know what I mean?”

Below are the biggest Billboard chart hits from the Grammy-winning Irish artist’s career. Sinead O’Connor’s biggest Billboard hits chart is based on actual performance on Billboard’s weekly Alternative Airplay chart, through July 29, 2023. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower ranks earning less. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.

Reporting by Gary Trust.