Irish musician Sinéad O'Connor dead at 56

foxnews.com:

Sinéad O'Connor, Irish musician, has died at 56. "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad," the singer's family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE. "Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time." No cause of death has been revealed at this time.

O'Connor gained fame in the 90's following the release of her hit song, "Nothing Compares 2 U." The song was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards, according to the Irish Times. "Nothing Compares 2 U" received three Grammy nominations and was the featured track off her acclaimed album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," which helped lead Rolling Stone to name her Artist of the Year in 1991. "She proved that a recording artist could refuse to compromise and still connect with millions of listeners hungry for music of substance," the magazine declared.

Shortly after, the singer-songwriter tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live." However, O'Connor saw the move as putting her career "on the right track." "I feel that having a No.

1 record derailed my career," O'Connor wrote in her memoir, according to the New York Times, "and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track." She wrote about her rise to fame, saying, "The media was making me out to be crazy because I wasn’t acting like a pop star was supposed to act." "It seems to me that being a pop star is almost like being in a type of prison.