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Sinead OConnorhas diedat the age of 56.
In light of her passing, were re-running this 2022 essay on the singers first Stateside performance.
February 22, 1989, the 31st annual Grammy Awards.
She touches her face almost like she cant believe shes there.
OConnors voice is clear and cutting, alternating between a whisper and a dare.
After she was done, reporters from theL.A.
Timesdescribed OConnor as looking nervous backstage.
If only that were true.
Mandinka was a fearless battle cry, but it was only her opening act.
Yet by 1989 the genre had become too popular to simply ignore.
So they decided to confer the first-ever award for Best Rap Performance, but not to televise it.
Despite the Recording Academys attempts to suppress rap, she managed to foil those plans too.
Despite being decidedly anti-pop, her piercing musical memoir became a surprise commercial hit, ultimately going gold.
OConnor then topped that with her multi-platinum follow up, 1990sI Do Not Want What I Havent Got.
But as her star rose even higher, so did the scrutiny.
Politicians organized protests against OConnor.
DJs refused to play her records.
OConnor was widely accused of censorship when it was she who was being censored.
She was also criticized for being anti-American and ungrateful for the success she had achieved.
OConnor seemed a little shocked.
Aside from saying thanks when she was presented with the first two trophies, she said almost nothing.
OConnor then dug in even deeper.
She refused to attend the 1991 awards ceremony or accept her eventual win for Best Alternative Music Performance.
What kinds of sacrifices have we made not to see or hear what she was trying to tell us?
