Sinead O'Connor, one of the world's most recognizable female singers, is giving a concert in Warsaw May 31. The Irish diva is being brought to town by the organizers of the Miejska Strefa Kultury (City Culture Zone) festival.

Sinead O'Connor shot to global stardom in 1990 when her version of "Nothing Compares 2 U," a song Prince originally wrote for funk band the Family, went to number one in 17 countries. Prince also arranged the song for O'Connor.

With her trademark shaved head, O'Connor has a reputation for being a maverick and a controversial artist. She tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on live TV in 1992 to protest the Vatican's cover up of child abuse by priests in Ireland. O'Connor owes a lot of her outspokenness and non-conformist attitudes to her adolescence. Her parents' divorce, her tense relationship with her mother and her boarding school experiences all left their mark on her personality. O'Connor once told an interviewer that she had had relationships with both men and women. She told Entertainment Weekly in May 2005, "I'm three quarters heterosexual and one quarter gay."

Apart from "Nothing Compares 2 U," O'Connor has had hits with "Mandinka" and "The Emperor's New Clothes." She performed tracks from her latest album Theology during last year's Malta International Theater Festival in the western Polish city of Poznań. She will be giving another Polish concert this year when she performs at the Globaltica 2008 Festival in the port city of Gdynia July 24-28.

The Miejska Strefa Kultury (City Culture Zone) combines a love of classical music with a fascination for pop-rock. The festival is being held May 30-31 this year and will kick off with a movie score concert. Warsaw audiences will get to hear top-notch Polish musicians give their renditions of the music that made films like Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather, Gladiator and With Fire and Sword.

May 31, 7 p.m., Square in front of the, Palace of Culture and Science
Free admission, www.estrada.com.pl