Grammy-winning artist Pink paid a special tribute to Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor at Wednesday night’s concert at Great American Ball Park.
O’Connor died Wednesday at the age of 56, according to a statement from her family. The cause of her death has not yet been disclosed.
Pink brought opener and Grammy-winning Brandi Carlile back onstage for a performance of O’Connor’s hit “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The two sang an emotional duet of the song originally written by Prince, backed by a grand piano.
“Can’t think of two mightier women to honor her,” one Twitter user wrote.
O’Connor’s family said in the statement to BBC Wednesday that they are “devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
The vocalist’s cause of death has not yet been revealed. USA TODAY has reached out to O’Connor’s representatives for comment.
O’Connor rose to stardom in 1990 after her sophomore album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” which included her cover of the Prince song that Pink and Carlile performed Wednesday night.
She was nominated for a total of eight Grammys, winning one for best alternative music performance for “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.” She published a memoir, “Rememberings,” in 2021, and released 10 albums during her career, most recently “I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss” in 2014.
O’Connor frequently used her music to advocate for social justice: denouncing police brutality in 1990’s “Black Boys on Mopeds” and calling for women’s rights in 2000’s “No Man’s Woman.” In 2020, she released a cover of Mahalia Jackson’s “Trouble of the World” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
More:Sinéad O’Connor, acclaimed and controversial Irish musician, dies at 56
The news of her death comes more than a year after O’Connor’s 17-year-old son Shane died by suicide in January 2022. The singer posted a series of troubling messages to her Twitter account in the weeks following his death, writing, “I’ve decided to follow my son. There’s no point living without him.” Shane was one of O’Connor’s four children.
Pink’s Summer Carnival Tour continues July 31 in Boston.
Contributing: Brian Mansfield, Melissa Ruggieri, Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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