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May 16, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Erik Tanner

Earlier this year, prolific singer/songwriter Kevin Devine returned with his moving and cinematic new album, Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong. His expansive new effort has not slowed his relentless creative pace either. Devine is out on tour now, with support from Kississippi and Kayleigh Goldsworthy, and today he has shared a cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” premiering with Under the Radar.

In addition to his own output, Devine has offered plenty of covers over the years, including covering the entirety of Nevermind back in 2019. Now he’s once again trying his hand at a classic with his cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” stripping the song back to its barest essentials. Musically, Devine draws on a simple combination of wounded vocals and plaintive acoustic guitar, pulling away the track’s layers of drama and finding its heartbroken core. In doing so, he encapsulates heart-rending beauty and stark emotional resonance that have made the song an enduring classic.

As Devine shares, “I have to admit that for me, regardless of its author (and his canonical cultural stature), this song will forever belong to Sinead O’Connor. She sang it and recast it in her indelible image and ownership, and meeting it (& her) as an 11 year old in 1990 set off a 31-years-and-counting admiration and gratitude affair. Sometimes I get a kick out of singing songs Singers (Sinead, Sam Cooke, etc.) Sing, because I don’t really think of myself as a Singer. It’s a fun way to push myself. I hope justice was done.”

Check out the song and video below. Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong is out now via Triple Crown Records.