Pink and Brandi Carlile honor Sinead O’Connor with a haunting duet
On the first night of Pink and Brandi Carlile’s U.S. concert tour, the pair of musicians paid tribute to Irish singer Sinead O’Connor with a stunning performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Just a few hours before the pair kicked off their Summer Carnival tour, the world learned of O’Connor’s unexpected death at the age of 56. After hearing the news, Pink and Carlile marked the sad occasion during their Great American Ball Park performance in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Carlile shared a portion of the performance on her Twitter account the next day.
“Bittersweet moment @Pink,” she wrote.
Bittersweet moment @Pink pic.twitter.com/wbgXdEGO9y
— Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile) July 27, 2023
Before the duet, Pink talked to the crowd about how O’Connor and her iconic song have been a part of her life since childhood.
“When I was a little girl, my mom grew up in Atlantic City and I used to go down to the Ocean City Boardwalk with my $10 and I would make a demo tape… I would make a little cassette tape and imagine it was my demo for the record company,” she said to the crowd.
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One of the songs she always sang was “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and Pink thought it was the perfect time to perform it with her opening act.
“So in honor of Sinead, and in honor of my very, very talented friend Brandi Carlile I asked her if she would come out here and sing this song with me,” she continued.
Both artists have performed the song individually over the years, which likely helped them nail the vocals of this challenging song.
Following the show, many fans at the concert shared videos of the moving tribute and appreciated the musicians for honoring O’Connor.
@Pink and @brandicarlile paid tribute to the late Sinead O’Connor in the most beautiful way. So thrilled I got to see it in person. #SummerCarnivalTour #p!nk #brandicarlile #cincy pic.twitter.com/ZIONoLUqeu
— PinkOwlMomma (@PinkOwlMomma) July 27, 2023
Billboard shared a fan’s YouTube video of the full performance from the July 26 concert.
Pink shared a message to her fans after the song about the importance of kindness to others.
“You just never know…what people are going through, so it’s not hard to give people a smile,” she said, according to Billboard. “It’s not hard to be kind. I’m learning that lesson in this lifetime as well. We can all learn that together.”