The Emperor's New Clothes (song) explained

The Emperor's New Clothes
Cover:The Emperor's New Clothes Sinéad.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Sinéad O'Connor
Album:I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
B-Side:
Released:5 June 1990
Genre:
Length:5:16 (album/12" version)
4:29 (video version)
4:16 (7" version)
Label:
Producer:Sinéad O'Connor
Prev Title:Nothing Compares 2 U
Prev Year:1990
Next Title:Three Babies
Next Year:1990

"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a song written and recorded by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor for her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). The song was released as the album's second single on 5 June 1990 by Ensign and Chrysalis Records and reached number three in Canada, number five in Ireland, and the top 20 in Australia, Italy and Switzerland. In the United States, the song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for a week. Its music video was directed by John Maybury.[3]

Composition

Lyrically, the song is about personal tribulations amid the oppression of the world around her, while she sings: I will live by my own policies/I will sleep with a clear conscience.[4]

Critical reception

Jodi Cleesattle from American Eagle felt that "The Emperor's New Clothes" is "the album's closest thing to a typical rock song", and "an up-front autobiographical song with even, somewhat gritty vocals and strong backing on both electric and acoustic guitars."[5] Bill Coleman from Billboard described it as a "jangly",[6] "clever, guitar-laced rocker [which] is a fine choice as a follow-up". He also stated that it "should confirm O'Connor's status as a viable pop radio star."[7] Tom Moon from Knight-Ridder declared it as a "show-stopping moment" and a "bitter what-I-learned-on-the-road song".[8]

Simon Reynolds from Melody Maker felt that "this shrill statement of independence (so radically minimalist it doesn't have a tune)", "could be directed either at a male lover or at a public that keeps foisting their expectations on her slight shoulders."[9] Pan-European magazine Music & Media viewed it as "hard-hitting pop".[10] David Giles from Music Week remarked that it's "a rockier track", more like "Mandinka" than "Nothing Compares 2 U", "though without any of the former's quirkiness."[11] William Shaw from Smash Hits named it "the most confessional record ever", describing it as "goose-pimplingly honest".[12]

Retrospective response

In an 2020 retrospective review, Matthew Hocter from Albumism said that the song "shows a conviction that is part anger and part middle finger to the never-ending judgement the singer faced at the time with her star sky rocketing, scrutiny around her Catholic faith, and her role as a newly single mother."[13] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as one of several "moments of brilliance" in his review of the compilation album So Far... The Best Of.[14] In 1998, David Quantick from NME wrote that it is a song "very heavy on specifics and is full of not very obscure lines like. He thinks I just became famous and that's what messed me up and the splendidly un-rock 'n' roll You know how it is/And how a pregnancy can change you."[15]

The lyric It seems like years since you held the baby/ While I wrecked the bedroom, according to Mark Richardson from Pitchfork in 2009, "is delivered with a muted lilt, O'Connor's voice bright and possibly a little hopeful, confident in her strength despite the weight of the past".[16] In an 2015 review, Pop Rescue wrote that the song itself is "a rockier song" than the others on the album, adding that "it really has a great rhythm and shows that Sinéad is equally at home of these harder pop rock songs. This is a brilliant track!"[17]

Track listing

  1. "The Emperor's New Clothes" (LP Version) – 5:16
  2. "The Emperor's New Clothes" (Main Mix) – 4:37
  3. "What Do You Want?" – 2:58
  4. "Mandinka" (Jake's Remix) – 5:58

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1990)Peak
position
Argentina (CAPIF)[18] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[19] 56
Italy (Musica e dischi)[20] 15

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[21] 42
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[22] 5

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United States5 June 1990
United Kingdom9 July 19907-inch vinyl[23]
16 July 199012-inch vinyl[24]
30 July 1990[25]
Japan24 August 1990CD[26]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pitchfork Staff . The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s . . September 28, 2022 . ...a jaunty alt-pop us-against-them anthem ('The Emperor's New Clothes').. April 26, 2023.
  2. Web site: The Alternative Number Ones: Sinéad O'Connor's 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. Breihan. Tom. Stereogum. 17 January 2024. subscription. 17 January 2024. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' is a rock song..
  3. Web site: Sinead O'Connor - The Emperor's New Clothes (Live in 1990). Radiolivestageone.webradiosite.com. 22 March 2024.
  4. Web site: Sinéad O'Connor: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got . . 3 October 2003 . 18 December 2018 . Cinquemani . Sal.
  5. Jodi . Cleesattle . Pain, power essence of O'Connor's voice . American Eagle . 2 April 1990 . 15 .
  6. Bill . Coleman . Dance Trax: The Alternative Tip Is looking Sharp . . 31 March 1990 . 31 . 14 October 2020 .
  7. Bill . Coleman . Single Reviews . . 16 June 1990 . 85 . 28 October 2020 .
  8. News: Tom . Moon . Sinead O'Connor produces a stunning second album . . 23 March 1990 . 13 March 2020 . Tom Moon.
  9. Simon. Reynolds. Melody Maker. Singles. 14 July 1990. 24 February 2023. Simon Reynolds.
  10. Previews: Albums . . 7 . 12 . 24 March 1990 . 16 . 3 November 2020 .
  11. David . Giles . Singles . . 21 July 1990 . 19 . 30 October 2020 .
  12. William . Shaw . Review: Singles . . 303 . 45 . 11 July 1990 . 8 March 2020. William Shaw (writer).
  13. Web site: Sinéad O'Connor's 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got' Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective . Albumism . 18 March 2020 . 23 March 2020.
  14. Web site: Stephen Thomas . Erlewine . Sinéad O'Connor - So Far: The Best of Sinead O'Connor . . 22 March 2020 . Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
  15. Web site: David . Quantick . Sinead O'Connor – I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got . . https://web.archive.org/web/20000817172855/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000019reviews.html . 4 December 2020 . 2000-08-17 . David Quantick.
  16. Web site: Sinéad O'Connor: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Limited Edition) . . 24 April 2009 . 18 December 2018 . Richardson . Mark.
  17. Web site: Review: "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" by Sinead O'Connor (CD, 1990) . Pop Rescue . 5 October 2015 . 14 April 2020.
  18. News: Los 5 éxitos de la semana. La Nación (Costa Rica). es. 5 February 2024. 11 September 1990. 24.
  19. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 7. 35. V. 1 September 1990. 13 May 2021.
  20. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e dischi. it. 29 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Sinead O'Connor".
  21. Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 30 April 2019.
  22. The Year in Music 1990: Top Modern Rock Tracks. Billboard. 102. 51. YE-47. 22 December 1990.
  23. New Singles. Music Week. 39. 7 July 1990.
  24. New Singles. Music Week. 37. 14 July 1990.
  25. New Singles. Music Week. 27. 28 July 1990.
  26. Web site: Emperor's New Clothes, The シニード・オコナー. Emperor's New Clothes, The Sinéad O'Connor. Oricon. ja. 8 September 2023.