{"id":21984,"date":"2025-02-17T17:47:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=21984"},"modified":"2025-02-17T17:47:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:47:53","slug":"that-was-painful-to-watch-viewers-react-to-miley-cyrus-and-brittany-howards-cover-of-nothing-compares-2-u-at-snl50-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=21984","title":{"rendered":"‘That Was Painful to Watch’: Viewers React to Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s Cover of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ at SNL50 \u2013 Video"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A tribute performance at SNL50 took an unexpected turn, drawing sharp criticism and stirring debate over its execution.<\/p>\n

Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard took the stage at “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” on Sunday, February 16, 2025, to perform “Nothing Compares 2 U, sparking online buzz.”<\/p>\n

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A fan comment aimed at Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s SNL performance, dated February 17, 2025 | Source: Facebook\/RollingStone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, their\u00a0rendition of the song<\/a>\u00a0garnered mixed reactions from viewers, with many expressing disappointment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Several Facebook users shared their opinions on the performance, with many criticizing\u00a0Cyrus’ vocals.<\/a>\u00a0One user\u00a0wrote,<\/a>\u00a0“That was painful to watch. Such an amazing song and this was a disrespect to Sinead.”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Another comment\u00a0described it as<\/a>\u00a0“One of the evening’s low points.”\u00a0<\/i>Some viewers took issue with Cyrus’ singing, with one\u00a0stating,<\/a>\u00a0“Miley has such a mediocre voice.”\u00a0<\/i>Another\u00a0added,<\/a>\u00a0“Wish it was only Brittany. Miley should have just left it alone [sic].”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Others were more direct in their criticism. One person\u00a0commented,<\/a>\u00a0“Absolutely ruined the song. It was tragic.”<\/i>\u00a0Another\u00a0expressed disappointment,<\/a>\u00a0“Miley Cyrus… why?”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Miley<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Miley Cyrus performs at “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert,” on February 14, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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While some fans acknowledged their appreciation for Cyrus as an artist, they felt the performance did not suit her voice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One user\u00a0shared,<\/a>\u00a0“I love Miley but not for that song. Howard should have done it. I only really like Sinead and Price versions. I love the song [sic].”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Irish<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor performs on stage at Torhout\/Werchter Festival, Torhout, Belgium, on July 7, 1990 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Others noted issues with the arrangement, with one\u00a0stating,<\/a>\u00a0“I love me some Miley but this was not her best vocal. Thank goodness for Britany. The arrangement was weird [sic].”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Miley<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Miley Cyrus, Brittany Howard perform at “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert,” on February 14, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some were particularly critical of Cyrus’ live singing ability. One user\u00a0wrote,<\/a>\u00a0“Miley, like always, was HORRIBLE live. She sang flat, monotone and showed that she is extremely limited in her vocal range. Only mindless fanbois\/girls will enjoy it. Brittany sang her off the stage [sic].”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cyrus and Howard’s rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was meant to honor the late Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor, but the song carries a complex history \u2014 both within the music industry and on the “Saturday Night Live” stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by Prince in 1985, the track was initially recorded by his side project, The Family, before O’Connor transformed it into a global hit in 1990 with her raw and emotional interpretation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Musical guest Sinead O’Connor performs on September 29, 1990 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, O’Connor’s history with SNL became controversial after her 1992 appearance. While performing Bob Marley’s “War,” she\u00a0tore up a photo<\/a>\u00a0of Pope John Paul II in protest of child abuse within the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The act led to widespread backlash, and she was subsequently banned from the show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sinead<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sinead O’Connor performs on “Saturday Night Live,” dated September 29, 1990 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Cyrus’ connection to “Nothing Compares 2 U” dates back more than a decade. In a September 2013 Rolling Stone interview, she compared her “Wrecking Ball” music video to O’Connor’s emotionally charged visual for the song.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She\u00a0explained,<\/a>\u00a0“It’s like the Sin\u00e9ad O’Connor video [for Nothing Compares 2 U], but, like, the most modern version. I wanted it to be tough but really pretty \u2013 that’s what Sin\u00e9ad did with her hair and everything.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Music guest Miley Cyrus performs “Wrecking Ball” on October 8, 2013 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, O’Connor took offense to the comparison. Shortly after the interview, she published an open letter through The Guardian, warning Cyrus about the dangers of exploitation in the music industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. We aren’t merely objects of desire,” she\u00a0wrote.<\/a>\u00a0O’Connor also urged Cyrus to distance herself from industry executives who, in her view, were profiting from her image.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sinead<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sinead O’Connor attends the Late Late show at RTE Studios on October 4, 2013, in Dublin, Ireland | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The feud escalated further when O’Connor accused Cyrus of allowing herself to be exploited by the music industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cyrus, in response, mocked O’Connor’s past struggles with mental health, referencing tweets that O’Connor had made during a vulnerable time. Their back-and-forth played out publicly, with the late Irish singer threatening legal action over Cyrus’ remarks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Miley<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Miley Cyrus arriving for the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards at the Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, Netherlands | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Later that year, O’Connor reflected on the controversy in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Despite their public feud, she acknowledged that the situation had unintentionally sparked an important discussion about mental health and media ethics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I think the more important thing that came out of all of that was this wonderful chance to address\u2026 how the media handle the issue of mental health,” she\u00a0said.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Singer Sinead O’Connor leaves her Soho hotel on November 11, 2013, in New York City | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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O’Connor pointed out how the media often capitalized on the struggles of public figures, particularly young female celebrities like\u00a0Amanda Bynes<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Britney Spears.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Amanda<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Amanda Bynes is seen in a police booking photo April 6, 2012, in West Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She criticized the way paparazzi profited from images of women going through personal crises,\u00a0adding,<\/a>\u00a0“No one in the situation has offered the girls a hug or a percentage…”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She also highlighted how such media coverage contributed to real-life consequences,\u00a0saying,<\/a>\u00a0“It causes bullying of these girls, which doesn’t stay on the page or the screen \u2014 it translates down to all the other people in the world who get bullied.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A decade after their feud, Cyrus\u00a0reflected on her past exchange<\/a>\u00a0with O’Connor during her “2023 ABC special, Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions).”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She\u00a0recalled<\/a>\u00a0how she had anticipated criticism over “Wrecking Ball,” but she had not expected backlash from fellow female artists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Miley<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Miley Cyrus attends the Versace FW23 Show at Pacific Design Center on March 9, 2023, in West Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I was expecting there to be controversy and backlash, but I don’t think I expected other women to put me down or turn on me, especially women that had been in my position before,” she\u00a0said.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cyrus admitted that, at the time, she did not fully understand O’Connor’s concerns or her mental state. “I had no idea about the fragile mental state that she was in, and I was also only 20 years old, so I could really only wrap my head around mental illness so much,” she\u00a0explained.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Singer Miley Cyrus, winner of Video of the Year award for ‘Wrecking Ball’, poses in the press room during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014, in Inglewood, California | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She also expressed frustration over feeling like her artistic choices were being dismissed. “Our younger childhood triggers and traumas come up in weird and odd ways, and I think I’d just been judged for so long for my own choices that I was just exhausted,” she\u00a0noted.<\/a> “I was in this place where I finally was making my own choices and my own decisions, and to have that taken away from me deeply upset me.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Miley<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Miley Cyrus at Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura on March 9, 2023, in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite their past differences, she ended her reflection with a statement of respect for O’Connor. “God bless Sin\u00e9ad O’Connor, for real, in all seriousness,” she\u00a0added.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sinead<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sinead O’Connor recieves the Classic Irish Album award for “I Do Not Want What I Haven\u2019t Got” at the RT\u00c9 Choice Music Prize at Vicar Street on March 9, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite their history,\u00a0Miley Cyrus<\/a>\u00a0and Brittany Howard’s\u00a0SNL50<\/a>\u00a0performance was meant as a tribute to O’Connor, who passed away in 2023 of natural causes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Miley<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard perform “Nothing Compares 2 U” on February 16, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, the execution left many viewers unimpressed, with social media users criticizing Cyrus’ vocals and questioning whether she was the right choice for the song.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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