Both icon and iconoclast, Sinead O'Connor has been making music, rejecting stereotypes and defying expectations for more than a quarter century. At the age of 14, she wrote and recorded the debut single for the Dublin-based Irish band In Tua Nua, then left the band because she was too young to tour. In 1987, she wrote, recorded and released "The Lion and The Cobra," which Rolling Stone called "easily one of the most distinctive debut albums of the year," and charted with her first alternative hits "Mandinka," "Troy," and "I Want Your (Hands On Me)." In 1990, her sophomore album, "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 while her Prince-penned single, "Nothing Compares 2 U," reached #1 on the Hot 100 and earned her a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance. (Over the next few years, she would later withdraw her name from Grammy consideration despite multiple nominations.) Her groundbreaking video for "Nothing Compares 2 U," featuring Sinead's unforgettable performance in single-shot close-up, took home the Best Video trophy at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, marking the first time a woman had ever won the Best Video category. Her clean-shaven head, ferocity of intelligence and intent, dignified persona, and penetrating aesthetic acuity established a new template for women in popular music and culture. Her uncompromised image obliterated objectification while the unprecedented potency of her music demanded that she be taken seriously as an artist. While her third album, 1992's "Am I Not Your Girl?," presaged the current resurgence of torch songs and standards by nearly a decade, a series of well-documented controversies led to her withdrawal from the music business while she continued to refine her art and pursue her own spiritual path. "The whole 'Sinead O'Connor' experience had made me very sad," she says today. "I was also dealing with other, more private, feelings which would have prevented me attempting to make a record like Theology." Following the release of "Am I Not Your Girl?" and a cover of Cole Porter's "You Do Something to Me" for the "Red Hot & Blue" AIDS/fundraising album, Sinead retreated from the glare of public scrutiny and retired to Dublin to devote time to her family and study the art and science of Italian bel canto singing, among other personal pursuits. In 1994, she released "Universal Mother," her first album of original material since "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," which featured the hit single, "Thank You For Hearing Me," and an astounding cover of Kurt Cobain's "All Apologies." 1997 saw the release of a mini-album, "Gospel Oak," which presaged ‘Theology’ in the intensity of its acoustic arrangements. 2000's "Faith and Courage," an album of mostly new Sinead O'Connor compositions, featured production and musical contributions from variety of artists including Wyclef Jean, Brian Eno, David A. Stewart, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, among others. In 2002, Sinead released "Sean Nos Nua," a vital reinterpretation of familiar Irish traditional material, which was warmly welcomed by critics and fans alike, and once again illustrated her ability to reinvent herself irrespective of prevailing fads and notions. She followed up in 2003 with "She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty," her hand-picked compendium of B-sides, rarities and covers coupled with a riveting live performance recorded at Dublin's Vicar Street. Following her interest in Rastafari culture, Sinead traveled to Jamaica in 2005 to record "Throw Down Your Arms," a collection of reggae classics. Recorded under the tutelage of Sly & Robbie with some of Jamaica's finest musicians, the album peaked at #4 on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums chart. Twenty years after she first began transforming the pop cultural landscape with the release of her debut solo album, "The Lion and The Cobra," Sinead O'Connor continues to delight and surprise, challenge and inspire with the sound of her voice and the power of her music on ‘Theology’ . The album is being released by Koch Records on That's Why There's Chocolate and Vanilla, Sinead's own label imprint.