Ronan Keating, Blue, et Germein

From humble beginnings in Dublin, Ireland, Keating’s graceful journey to pop super stardom began after seeing an advertisement for an Irish Take That in the shoe shop where he worked. After a gruelling audition process with over 300 hopefuls, 14-year-old Keating impressed pop mogul Louis Walsh, and was offered the role of lead vocalist in the band Boyzone. With the recent fall of Take That, British pop was due to new poster-boy band and Boyzone gladly filled those shoes. Over five years Boyzone released four UK No. 1 Albums, 16 UK Top Three singles, and eventually sold over 27 million records before disbanding in 1999.

Just prior to Boyzone’s seperation, Keating recorded a cover of “When You Say Nothing At All”, which appeared on the 1999 film “Notting Hill”. The single subsequently debuted at No. 1 on the UK singles chart, paving the way for Keating’s successful solo career. A year later, in 2000, the singer-songwriter issued his debut solo album “Ronan”, which topped the UK Albums Chart with sales of over 1.2 million. The album showcased Keating’s classy yet sensual delivery and spawned the further singles “Life Is a Rollercoaster”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, and “Lovin’ Each Day”.

“Destination” arrived in 2002, Keating’s second studio effort, in a collaboration with ex-New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander. The album represented a more developed songwriter and singer, and produced the hits “I Love It When We Do” and “I’ve Got My Hear on You”. Keating’s third full-length “Turn It On” appeared in 2004 led by the Terence Trent D’Arby single “Let Her Down Easy”. The singer-songwriter subsequently released the compilation album “10 Years of Hits” in 2005, the full length “Bring You Home” in 2006, and the tribute album “Songs for My Mother”, following his mother’s battle with breast cancer. A compilation of duets aptly titled “Duet” earned its release in 2010 and featured the likes of LeAnn Rimes, Cat Stevens, Lulu, and Elton John. The fruits of a collaboration with composer Burt Bacharach were issued on the record “When Ronan Met Burt” in 2011, followed a year later with Keating’s fifth studio album “Fires”.

In 1999, having met at an audition for a boy band managed by Simon Cowell, Lee Ryan and Antony Costa kept in touch and a year later invited Duncan James to start a band. It wasn’t long before the trio impressed Daniel Glatman, who later became their manager, and invited Ryan’s flatmate Simon Webbe to complete the line up. The band signed a contract with Innocent Records and Blue’s output was put in reliable hands of numerous songwriting/production teams. Penned by Norwegian pop team Stargate, Blue’s debut single “All Rise” took the UK by storm and rose to No. 4 in the UK Singles chart in May 2001. The band’s subsequent single “If You Come Back” became Blue’s first No. 1 single and paved the way for their debut album “All Rise” issued in December 2001. The album, aided by the Christmas season, topped the UK Albums chart and went on to sell over 1.8 million copies.

Like its predecessor Blue’s sophomore album “One Love” debuted the UK Albums chart at No. 1 spawning the singles “One Love”, “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” featuring Elton John, and “U Make Me Wanna”. The album cemented the group’s position in the sugary-pop world, however borrowed influences from rock, funk, R&B and soul. The band’s third full-length album “Guilty” appeared in 2003 and once again topped the UK Album Chart, however showed signs that the Blue bubble losing momentum. Led by the title track “Guilty” and subsequent “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” featuring Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone, the album went on to sell over a million copies.

The greatest hits album “Best of Blue” hit the shelves towards the tail end of 2004, spawning the singles “Curtain Falls”, “Get Down on It”, and “Only Words I Know”. In 2005 the band announced a hiatus, allowing members to focus on their solo careers. Blue returned in 2009 with a performance at the Silverstone Classic festival in August and announced they would represent the UK at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with their single “I Can”. In 2012 the band embarked on a tour alongside A1 and Jeff Timmons entitled “Boybands: The Greatest Hits Tour.

With contributions from R&B singers Ne-Yo and Bruno Mars, Blue released their fourth studio album “Roulette” in April 2013. Led by their single “Hurt Loves”, the album charted at No. 13 in the UK Albums chart and No. 14 in Germany. In support of “Roulette” the band embarked on “The Roulette Tour”, Blue’s fourth headlining tour across the UK and Europe. Blue subsequently released the album “Colours” in March 2015, led by the single “King of the World”.