#Magda Davitt

[odinsblog]

“This caused controversy” is an incredible understatement.

O’Connor was ahead of her time and consistently spoke out on issues related to child abuse, human rights, anti-racism, organized religion, social injustice, mental illnesses, and women's rights. But in specifically calling out the Catholic Church for its systemic culture of covering up child sexual abuse and protecting abuser priests, her career was effectively derailed by the media.

She unflinchingly spoke truth to power.

“I don't do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. I'm proud to be a troublemaker.” —Sinead O’Connor

Rest in Peace 🕊️

[whileiamdying]

Sinéad O’Connor, acclaimed Dublin singer, dies aged 56

The Irish musician found worldwide fame with hit single Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990

Sarah Burns Wed Jul 26 2023 - 18:31

Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has died at the age of 56, her family has announced.

In a statement, the singer’s family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

The acclaimed Dublin performer released 10 studio albums, while her song Nothing Compares 2 U was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.

Her version of the ballad, written by musician Prince, topped the charts around the globe and earned her three Grammy nominations.

The accompanying music video, directed by English filmmaker John Maybury, consisted mostly of a close-up of O’Connor’s face as she sung the lyrics and became as famous as her recording of the song.

In 1991, O’Connor was named artist of the year by Rolling Stone magazine on the back of the song’s success.

Ms O’Connor was presented with the inaugural award for Classic Irish Album at the RTÉ Choice Music Awards earlier this year.

The singer received a standing ovation as she dedicated the award for the album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, to “each and every member of Ireland’s refugee community”.

“You’re very welcome in Ireland. I love you very much and I wish you happiness,” she said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar led the tributes to O’Connor, expressing his sorrow at the death of the singer in a post on social media.

“Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare. Condolences to her family, her friends and all who loved her music,” said Mr Varadkar.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he was “devastated” to learn of her death.

“One of our greatest musical icons, and someone deeply loved by the people of Ireland, and beyond. Our hearts goes out to her children, her family, friends and all who knew and loved her,” he said.

Ms O’Connor is survived by her three children. Her son, Shane, died last year aged 17.

She drew controversy and divided opinion during her long career in music and time in public life.

In 1992, Ms O’Connor tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on US television programme Saturday Night Live in an act of protest against sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

“I’m not sorry I did it. It was brilliant,” she later said of her protest. “But it was very traumatising,” she added. “It was open season on treating me like a crazy bitch.”

The year before that high-profile protest, she boycotted the Grammy Awards, the music industry’s answer to the Oscars, saying she did not want “to be part of a world that measures artistic ability by material success.”

She refused the playing of US national anthem before her concerts, drawing further public scorn.

In more recent years, O’Connor became better known for her spiritualism and activism, and spoke publicly about her mental health struggles.

In 2007, Ms O’Connor told US talkshow Oprah Winfrey that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years previously and that before her diagnosis she had struggled with thoughts of suicide and overwhelming fear.

She said at the time that medication had helped her find more balance, but “it’s a work in progress”.

Ms O’Connor had also voiced support for other young women performers facing intense public scrutiny, including Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus.

The singer converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat, though continued to perform under the name Sinéad O’Connor. In 2021, Ms O’Connor released a memoir Rememberings, while last year a film on her life was directed by Kathryn Ferguson.

Broadcaster Dave Fanning said Ms O’Connor would be remembered for her music and her “fearlessness” and “in terms of how she went out there all the time, believed in everything she was doing, wasn’t always right and had absolutely no regrets at all”.

American rapper and actor Ice T has paid tribute to O’Connor, saying she “stood for something”, after her death at the age of 56.

In a Twitter post, he wrote: “Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something ... Unlike most people ... Rest Easy”.

Musician Tim Burgess of Northern Ireland band Ash said: “Sinead was the true embodiment of a punk spirit. She did not compromise and that made her life more of a struggle. Hoping that she has found peace.”

Penguin Books Ireland, which published her memoir ‘Rememberings’, said they were “so sorry” to hear of the death of the singer.

“Sinéad was a once in a generation talent and we were honoured to publish her memoir ‘Rememberings’,” they said. “We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.”

Sarah Burns is a reporter for The Irish Times.

[mulhollanddriver]

we are confident in the victory of good over evil

from empathmoon

[maaarine]

MBTI & Celebs

Sinéad O'Connor: INFP

"Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O'Connor, was an Irish singer, songwriter and activist.

Her debut studio album The Lion and the Cobra was released in 1987 and charted internationally.

Her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got was her biggest success, selling more than seven million copies worldwide.

Its lead single "Nothing Compares 2 U" was named the year's top world single at the Billboard Music Awards. (…)

O'Connor consistently brought attention to issues related to child abuse, human rights, racism, organised religion, and women's rights.

She tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II during a 1992 Saturday Night Live performance to protest abuse in the Catholic Church, triggering controversy.

Throughout her music career she spoke about her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political views, as well as her trauma and mental health struggles.

O'Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt in 2017.

After converting to Islam in 2018, she changed it to Shuhada' Sadaqat, while continuing to perform and record under her birth name.'"

sources: video, wiki/Sinéad_O'Connor

[melodiousmonk]

Shuhada' Sadaqat (previously Magda Davitt; born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O'Connor

[dankusner]

OBITUARY

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

Country music superstar, A-list Hollywood actor

LOS ANGELES — Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma, died Saturday.

He was 88.

The country music superstar and A-list Hollywood actor died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email.

McFarland said Kristofferson died peacefully, surrounded by his family.

No cause was given.

Starting in the late 1960s, the Brownsville native wrote such classics standards as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee.”

While Kristofferson was a singer, many of his songs were best known as performed by others, whether Ray Price crooning “For the Good Times” or Janis Joplin belting out “Me and Bobby McGee.”

He also starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in director Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore , starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 A Star Is Born and acted alongside Wesley Snipes in Marvel’s Blade in 1998.

Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, wove intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music.

With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represented a new breed of country songwriters along with such peers as Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.

“There’s no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson,” Nelson said during a November 2009 award ceremony for Kristofferson held by BMI.

“Everything he writes is a standard, and we’re all just going to have to live with that.”

He was a Golden Gloves boxer and football player in college, received a master’s degree in English from Merton College at the University of Oxford in England and turned down an appointment to teach at the Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., to pursue songwriting in Nashville. Hoping to break into the industry, he worked as a part-time janitor at Columbia Records’ Music Row studio.

At times, the legend of Kristofferson was larger than real life. Johnny Cash liked to tell a mostly exaggerated story of how Kristofferson, a former Army pilot, landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to give him a tape of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” with a beer in one hand.

Over the years in interviews, Kristofferson said with all respect to Cash, while he did land a helicopter at Cash’s house, the Man in Black wasn’t even home at the time, the demo tape was a song that no one ever actually cut and he certainly couldn’t fly a helicopter holding a beer.

In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, he said he might not have had a career without Cash.

“Shaking his hand when I was still in the Army backstage at the Grand Ole Opry was the moment I’d decided I’d come back,”

Kristofferson said. “It was electric. He kind of took me under his wing before he cut any of my songs. He cut my first record that was record of the year. He put me on stage the first time.”

In 1973, he married fellow songwriter Rita Coolidge and together they had a successful duet career that earned them two Grammy awards.

They divorced in 1980.

He retired from performing and recording in 2021.

Sinéad O’Connor slams old pal Kris Kristofferson for toxic masculinity

Sinéad O’Connor – aka Magda Davitt, or Shuhada’ Sadaqat – is back on Twitter with a vengeance these days and has since shut down her account.

Over the weekend, Sinéad sent out a number of pleas from County Wicklow regarding her missing 14-year-old son Shane, who thankfully was found safe and sound on Monday morning.

Even the police got involved, and when Shane was found “safe and well,” Sinéad tweeted “alhamdulillah,” Arabic for “praise be to God.” (You’ll remember that she converted to Islam last year.)

The 52-year-old Sinéad also let the world know about a long-ago fling with the singer/actor Kris Kristofferson, who’s now 82.

A fan of Sinéad’s on Twitter shared the true story of how Kristofferson came to Sinéad’s aid in the days after she shredded a photo of the Pope on "Saturday Night Live" in 1992, and faced the wrath of an angry nation afterward.

Not long after, Sinéad was one of the featured performers at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, and the crowd booed lustily.

Kristofferson was sent to the stage by the organizers to take the visibly upset Sinéad off, but instead, he told her not to let the “bastards get you down.”

So with Kristofferson’s words of encouragement, she continued, singing a capella about injustice and war, and he was the first one onstage afterward to give her a hug.

The aforementioned fan, Audra Williams, shared the story on Twitter in the context of the new Gillette ad that’s whipped up so much debate.

Williams tweeted, “The recent Gillette ad has started/furthered a lot of conversations about what alternatives to toxic masculinity look like. This is it.” Underneath the tweet was a photo of Sinéad being comforted by Kristofferson onstage during the Dylan show.

Sinéad, using her @magdadavitt77 handle, offered her take on the fan’s opinion and it was pretty surprising, not to mention crass.

“I would not agree Kris wasn’t toxically masculine. He took full advantage when he got the chance and then immediately turned nasty once…” and we won’t go on given that we’re a family site.

She ended the quote with the hashtag #NoHeroOfMine.

Sinéad further elaborated on Monday morning.

“In case my use of the words ‘took advantage’ [in] an earlier tweet might be misconstrued I wish to make clear that in no way, shape or form was I in any way sexually assaulted by Kris Kristofferson. And that the one time we did have sex, it was consensual.”

Sinéad seems to have made quite an impression on Kristofferson.

He wrote a song 10 years ago called “Sister Sinéad” in which he called her a “bald-headed, brave little girl.” Guess the feeling isn’t mutual.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Out of the depths I cry to You, oh Lord Don't let my cries for mercy be ignored If You keep a count of sins oh who would stand? But You have forgiveness in Your hands.

And I've heard religion say You're to be feared But I don't buy into everything I hear And it seems to me You're hostage to those rules That were made by religion and not by You.

And I'm wondering will You ever get Yourself free Is it bad to think You might need help from me? Is there anything my little heart can do To help religion share us with You?

For oh You're like a ghost in Your own home Nobody hears You crying all alone Oh You are the one truly voiceless One They have their back turned toward You For worship of gold and stone.

And to see You prisoner oh makes me weep Nobody hears You screaming in the streets And it's sad but true how the old saying goes If God lived on earth people would Break his windows.

I long for You as a watchman longs For the end of night...

— Shuhada' Sadaqat (Magda Davitt), née Sinéad O'Connor

[thanks Michael Morrell]

[pacingthroughouthemptiness]

"These are dangerous days To say what you feel is to dig your own grave"

Shuhada' Sadaqat previously Magda Davitt; born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor, 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023

[odinsblog]

Rest in peace 🕊️

[whileiamdying]

Sinead O’Connor, Evocative and Outspoken Singer, Is Dead at 56

She broke out with the single “Nothing Compares 2 U,” then caused an uproar a few years later by ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II on “S.N.L.”

By Ben Sisario and Joe Coscarelli July 26, 2023 Updated 5:41 p.m. ET Leer en español

Sinead O’Connor, the outspoken Irish singer-songwriter known for her powerful, evocative voice, as showcased on her biggest hit, a breathtaking rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and for her political provocations onstage and off, has died. She was 56.

Her longtime friend Bob Geldof, the Irish musician and activist, confirmed her death, as did her family in a statement, according to the BBC and the Irish public broadcaster RTE.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead,” the statement said. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.” No other details were provided.

Recognizable by her shaved head and by wide eyes that could appear pained or full of rage, Ms. O’Connor released 10 studio albums, beginning with the alternative hit “The Lion and the Cobra” in 1987. She went on to sell millions of albums worldwide, breaking out with “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” in 1990.

That album, featuring “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a No. 1 hit around the world and an MTV staple, won a Grammy Award in 1991 for best alternative music performance — although Ms. O’Connor boycotted the ceremony over what she called the show’s excessive commercialism.

Ms. O’Connor rarely shrank from controversy, though it often came with consequences for her career.

In 1990, she threatened to cancel a performance in New Jersey if “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played at the concert hall ahead of her appearance, drawing the ire of no less than Frank Sinatra. That same year, she backed out of an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in protest of the misogyny she perceived in the comedy of Andrew Dice Clay, who was scheduled to host.

But all of that paled in comparison to the uproar caused when Ms. O’Connor, appearing on “S.N.L.” in 1992 — shortly after the release of her third album, “Am I Not Your Girl?” — ended an a cappella performance of Bob Marley’s “War” by ripping a photo of Pope John Paul II into pieces as a stance against sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. “Fight the real enemy,” she said.

That incident immediately made her a target of criticism and scorn, from social conservatives and beyond. Two weeks after her “S.N.L.” appearance, she was loudly booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden. (She had planned to perform Mr. Dylan’s “I Believe in You,” but she sang “War” again, rushing off the stage before she had finished.)

For a time, the vitriol directed at Ms. O’Connor was so pervasive that it became a kind of pop culture meme in itself. On “S.N.L.” in early 1993, Madonna mocked the controversy by tearing up a picture of Joey Buttafuoco, the Long Island auto mechanic who was a tabloid fixture at the time because of his affair with a 17-year-old girl.

Once a rising star, Ms. O’Connor then stumbled. “Am I Not Your Girl?,” an album of jazz and pop standards like “Why Don’t You Do Right?” and “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” was stalled on the charts at No. 27. Her next album, “Universal Mother” (1994), went no higher than No. 36.

The British musician Tim Burgess, of the band Charlatans (known in the United States as the Charlatans UK), wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: “Sinead was the true embodiment of a punk spirit. She did not compromise and that made her life more of a struggle.”

Ms. O’Connor never had another major hit in the United States after “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” from “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” although for a time she remained a staple on the British charts.

But in her 2021 memoir, “Rememberings,” Ms. O’Connor portrayed ripping up the photo of the pope as a righteous act of protest — and therefore a success.

“I feel that having a No. 1 record derailed my career,” she wrote, “and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track.”

She elaborated in an interview with The New York Times that same year, calling the incident an act of defiance against the constraints of pop stardom.

“I’m not sorry I did it. It was brilliant,” Ms. O’Connor said. “But it was very traumatizing,” she added. “It was open season on treating me like a crazy bitch.”

Sinead Marie Bernadette O’Connor was born in Glenageary, a suburb of Dublin, on Dec. 8, 1966. Her father, John, was an engineer, and her mother, Johanna, was a dressmaker.

In interviews, and in her memoir, Ms. O’Connor spoke openly of having a traumatic childhood. She said that her mother physically abused her and that she had been deeply affected by her parents’ separation, which happened when she was 8. In her teens, she was arrested for shoplifting and sent to reform schools.

When she was 15, Ms. O’Connor sang “Evergreen” — the love theme from “A Star Is Born,” made famous by Barbra Streisand — at a wedding, and was discovered by Paul Byrne, a drummer who had an affiliation with the Irish band U2. She left boarding school at 16 and began her career, supporting herself by waitressing and performing “kiss-o-grams” in a kinky French maid costume.

“The Lion and the Cobra” — the title is an allusion to Psalm 91 — marked her as a rising talent with a spiritual heart, an ear for offbeat melody and a fierce and combative style. Her music drew from 1980s-vintage alternative rock, hip-hop and flashes of Celtic folk that came through when her voice raised to high registers.

She drew headlines for defending the Irish Republican Army and publicly jeered U2 — whose members had supported her — as “bombastic.” She also said she had rejected attempts by her record company, Ensign, to adopt a more conventional image.

The leaders of the label “wanted me to wear high-heel boots and tight jeans and grow my hair,” Ms. O’Connor told Rolling Stone in 1991. “And I decided that they were so pathetic that I shaved my head so there couldn’t be any further discussion.”

“Nothing Compares 2 U” — originally released by the Family, a Prince side project, in 1985 — became a phenomenon when Ms. O’Connor released it five years later. The video for the song, trained closely on her emotive face, was hypnotic, and Ms. O’Connor’s voice, as it raised from delicate, breathy notes to powerful cries, stopped listeners in their tracks. Singers like Alanis Morissette cited Ms. O’Connor’s work from this period as a key influence.

Not long after “Nothing Compares” became a hit, Ms. O’Connor accused Prince of physically threatening her. She elaborated on the story in her memoir, saying that Prince, at his Hollywood mansion, chastised her for swearing in interviews and suggested a pillow fight, only to hit her with something hard that was in his pillowcase. She escaped on foot in the middle of the night, she said, but Prince chased her around the highway.

The effects of childhood trauma, and finding ways to fight and heal, became a central part of her work and her personal philosophy. “The cause of all the world’s problems, as far as I’m concerned, is child abuse,” Ms. O’Connor told Spin magazine in 1991.

Her mother, whom Ms. O’Connor described as an alcoholic, died when she was 18. In her memoir, Ms. O’Connor said that on the day her mother died she took a picture of the pope from her mother’s wall; it was that photo that she destroyed on television.

On later albums, she made warmly expansive pop-rock (“Faith and Courage,” 2000), played traditional Irish songs (“Sean-Nós Nua,” 2002) and revisited classic reggae songs (“Throw Down Your Arms,” 2005). Her last album was “I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss,” released in 2014.

As her music career slowed, Ms. O’Connor, who had been open in the past about her mental health struggles, became an increasingly erratic public figure, often sharing unfiltered opinions and personal details on social media.

In 2007, she revealed on Oprah Winfrey’s television show that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that she had tried to kill herself on her 33rd birthday. Her son Shane died by suicide in 2022, at 17.

Ms. O’Connor said in 2012 that she had been misdiagnosed and that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a history of child abuse. “Recovery from child abuse is a life’s work,” she told People magazine.

Several years ago she converted to Islam and started using the name Shuhada Sadaqat, though she continued to answer to O’Connor as well.

Complete information on survivors was not immediately available. Ms. O’Connor had two brothers, Joe and John, and one sister, Eimear, as well as three stepsisters and a stepbrother. She wrote in her memoir that she was married four times and that she had four children: three sons, Jake, Shane and Yeshua, and a daughter, Roisin.

In discussing her memoir with The Times in 2021, Ms. O’Connor focused on her decision to tear up the photo of John Paul II as a signal moment in a life of protest and defiance.

“The media was making me out to be crazy because I wasn’t acting like a pop star was supposed to act,” she said. “It seems to me that being a pop star is almost like being in a type of prison. You have to be a good girl.”

Alex Traub contributed reporting.

Ben Sisario covers the music industry. He has been writing for The Times since 1998. More about Ben Sisario Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter with a focus on popular music, and the author of “Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story.” More about Joe Coscarelli

[good-ira]

Magda Davitt (Shuhadra Sadaqat) AKA/FKA Sinéad O’Connor

Demo track titled: Milestones

From her yet to be released album “No Veteran Dies Alone”

This song chronicles the story of Sinéad’s forced hospitalization after appearing on the Dr. Phil show where, according to Sinéad, “Dr.” Phil ignored all of her previous medical records in order to re-traumatize her on national television for the sake of views.

Truly a mistreated person until the very end.

❤️

[laguaridadelnagual]

Murió la cantante irlandesa Sinéad O’Connor

La aclamada intérprete lanzó 10 álbumes de estudio; fue conocida por su majestuosa voz y su exitosa versión de Nothing Compares 2 U de Prince   La cantante irlandesa Sinéad O’Connor, conocida por su éxito Nothing Compares 2 U, falleció a los 56 años, informó este miércoles su familia en un comunicado. "Con gran tristeza anunciamos el fallecimiento de nuestra querida Sinéad. Su familia y amigos están devastados y han pedido privacidad en este momento tan difícil", señaló la familia en la nota. La aclamada intérprete lanzó 10 álbumes de estudio. O'Connor fue conocida por su majestuosa voz y su exitosa versión de Nothing Compares 2 U de Prince. Su camino en la música comenzó en 1987 con el álbum The Lion and the Cobra, al que le siguió el gran éxito I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, que vio la luz en 1990 y contiene el mencionado cover. Además, es reconocido su activismo al participar de la serie de conciertos de Amnistía internacional y su denuncia pública en 1992 en plena TV en vivo ante el Papa y la Iglesia Católica y su larga historia de encubrimiento de abuso sexual infantil. La cantante nació el 8 de abril del año 1966 en Dublín, Irlanda. Fue diagnosticada con trastorno bipolar en 2003. Durante toda su vida, la artista luchó con problemas de salud mental y en 2015 incluso tuvo un intento de suicidio, pero la policía logró rescatarla luego de que en su cuenta de Facebook dejó un mensaje anunciando su sobredosis. Luego de su intento de suicidio en 2015, la cantante tendría varios episodios similares, los cuales en muchas ocasiones fueron comunicados al público por medios de redes sociales. O'Connor cambió su nombre en dos oportunidades: en 2017 se rebautizó como Magda Davitt y en 2018 pasó a llamarse Shuhada' Sadaqat por su conversión al Islam. A principios de 2022, su hijo de 17 años se quitó la vida luego de haberse escapado de un hospital donde recibía tratamiento de salud mental. En su cuenta de Twitter, la compositora e intérprete escribió: "Desde entonces, vivo como una criatura nocturna no muerta. Fue el amor de mi vida, la lámpara de mi alma”.   Read the full article

[danakarel]

(via Sinéad O’Connor, provocative Irish singer, dies at 56 | AP News)

RIP Shuhada' Sadaqat (previously Magda Davitt; born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023)

[nebris]

Shuhada' Sadaqat (previously Magda Davitt; born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023)

[dankusner]

Magda Davitt ( fka Sinead O'Connor) Milestones ( demo version)