Sinead O'Connor has removed her hit song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' saying she has ceased singing the Prince composed classic for good.

In a statement at her Facebook page Sinead said, 'OK, the time has come for me to cease singing Nothing Compares 2U. The first principle of the manner in which I'm trained as a singer (Bel Canto) is we never sing a song we don't emotionally identify with. After twenty-five years of singing it, nine months or so ago I finally ran out of anything I could use in order to bring some emotion to it. I don't want audiences to be disappointed coming along to a show and then not hearing it, so am letting you know here that you won't. If I were to sing it just to please people, I wouldn't be doing my job right, because my job is to be emotionally available. I'd be lying. You'd be getting a lie. My job is to give you honesty. I'm trained in honesty. I can't act. It just isn't in my training. I have ceased singing other songs over the years for the same reason'.

'Nothing Compares 2 U' was written by Prince in 1985 for his side-project The Family. The song originally appeared on The Family's one and only album that year.

O'Connor recorded the song as a tribute to her mother who had passed away in 1985 as well. Her version was released on her second album 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got', released in 1990. The album sold over 2 million copies in America and was also double platinum in the UK.

The song won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance in 1991. Sinead refused to accept the award.