LONDON: Outspoken Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has announced she has converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada.
Having adopted the name Magda Davitt last year, the 51-year-old is now called Shuhada Davitt.
She also changed her Twitter avatar to a black-and-white image of the Nike Swoosh logo and the slogan: “Wear a hijab. Just do it.”
“This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim. This is the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian’s journey,” she tweeted.
“All scripture study leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant. I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada.”
Her Twitter account says the singer now lives in “Direland.”
O’Connor’s 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” became a global hit, with her haunting voice, shaved head and single-tone outfits turning her into both an enigmatic and captivating figure.
But her career began to falter after she tore up a picture of the late Pope John Paul II while appearing as a musical guest on US television in 1992.
She said she was protesting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, but her gesture was roundly condemned in the media and she was eventually forced to apologize.
Yet her fight against the Catholic Church continued, and in 1999 O’Connor was ordained as a priest by a breakaway church based in the French city of Lourdes.
Catholicism does not sanction priesthood for women.
O’Connor told Billboard magazine in 2014 that she was still ordained but had stepped away from priesthood because “I’m not interested in causing more trouble than I already am.”
Singer Sinead O’Connor converts to Islam
Singer Sinead O’Connor converts to Islam
- O’Connor’s 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” became a global hit, with her haunting voice, shaved head and single-tone outfits turning her into both an enigmatic and captivating figure
Harry Styles announces first album in 4 years, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’
- It follows the critically acclaimed synth pop “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards
- “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon
NEW YORK: In this world, it’s just him: Harry Styles has announced that his long-awaited, fourth studio album will arrive this spring.
Titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” and out March 6, the album is Styles’ first full-length project in four years. It follows the 2022, critically acclaimed synth pop record “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star the top prize of album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
In a review, The Associated Press celebrated “Harry’s House” for showcasing “a breadth of style that matches the album’s emotional range.”
On Instagram, Styles’ shared the cover artwork for “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” which features the 31-year-old artist in a T-shirt and jeans at night, standing underneath a shimmering disco ball hung outside.
According to a press release, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon. The British songwriter and producer has been a close collaborator of Styles’ since the beginning of his solo career, working on all of his albums since the singer’s 2017 self-titled debut.
“Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” is now available for preorder.
It is also Styles’ first project since his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne died in 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
