Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating[1] (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish artist, singer/songwriter, musician, and philanthropist who currently hosts a breakfast show on Magic Radio. He debuted in 1994 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish group Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999 and he has recorded ten albums. He gained worldwide attention when his single "When You Say Nothing at All" was featured in the film Notting Hill and peaked at number one in several countries.
As a solo artist, Keating has sold over 20 million records worldwide alongside the 25 million records with Boyzone,[2][3][4] and in Australia, he is best known as a judge on "All Together Now" and The X Factor[5] from 2010 until 2014 and a coach on The Voice in 2016. Keating is active in charity work and has been a charity campaigner for the Marie Keating Foundation, which raises awareness for breast cancer and is named after his mother, who died from the disease in 1998.
Early life
Ronan Keating was born on 3 March 1977, the youngest of five children. He grew up in Bayside, Dublin and County Meath attending St. Fintan's High School. His father, Gerry Keating, was a lorry driver; his mother Marie was a mobile hairdresser. He has one sister: Linda, and three brothers: Ciarán, Gerard and Gary.[6][7] He was a track and field athlete and represented Ireland in several tournaments, winning the All Ireland under-13 200m title. Keating also auditioned for Stars in Their Eyes.
Career
1993–99: Boyzone
In 1993, the then 16-year-old Ronan Keating was the youngest member to join Boyzone. Keating, Keith Duffy, Richard Rock, Shane Lynch, Mark Walton and Stephen Gately were chosen as Boyzone members. Walton and Rock would later leave the group before being replaced by Michael Graham. The group performed in various clubs and pubs before being signed by Polygram in 1994 and released a cover version of "Working My Way Back to You" by The Four Seasons. The group also released a cover version of "Love Me for a Reason" which would peak on several charts. In 1998, his mother died at the age of 51[8] from breast cancer,[9] resulting in the establishment of the Marie Keating Foundation.
At the age of 21 years, Keating married Yvonne Connolly in April 1998 and together, the couple have three children: Jack (born 15 March 1998), Marie (born 18 February 2001) and Ali (born 7 September 2005). The couple are now divorced after Keating had an affair.[10]
From 1994 to 1999, Boyzone released 17 singles, 3 studio albums and 1 compilation album before disbanding in 2000 selling 27 million records and 3 million records from 4 singles, 1 compilation and studio album since their reformation.
1999–2006: Ronan, Destination, Turn It On and Bring You Home
In 1999, while still a member of Boyzone, Keating recorded a version of "When You Say Nothing at All" for the motion picture Notting Hill. The single peaked at number one in the UK charts, leading to a successful solo career.[11] Keating released his debut solo album, titled Ronan, in 2000, which peaked at number one in the UK Albums Chart. The album was given several negative reviews, although it sold over 750,000 copies and became one of the top selling albums of the year in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and has been certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 1.2 million copies. In the singer's native Ireland, the album debuted at number two. The album also became a commercial success in other European countries, where it charted within the top ten of eight countries. In 2001, Ronan was certified two-times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for shipments of two million copies inside Europe.[12]
The album produced four UK and Irish top-ten singles: "When You Say Nothing at All" (originally recorded for the soundtrack of the 1999 film Notting Hill), "Life Is a Rollercoaster", "The Way You Make Me Feel", and "Lovin' Each Day", the latter of which was featured on the re-release edition of the album, and later on Keating's second album, Destination (2002). Also the song "Lovin each day" is from a movie "Summer catch".
After the successful debut album Ronan Keating continued on with his solo career and has since released four more studio albums: Destination (2002), Turn It On (2003), 10 Years of Hits (2004) and Bring You Home (2006), four of which peaked at number one in the UK Albums Chart. Keating collaborated with several major stars, including Elton John, Lulu, LeAnn Rimes and the Bee Gees, for these albums.
Keating and Paul Brady co-wrote the 2001 hit single "The Long Goodbye",[13] one of Keating's most loved hits amongst fans and a huge hit for Brooks & Dunn in the United States. Keating and Brady won the "BMI European song-writing award" for the single. In 2003, Keating was named Rear of the Year – an award given to celebrities with a notable posterior.[14] In October 2007, Keating was listed in the Guinness Book of Records for being the only artist ever to have 30 consecutive top 10 singles in the UK chart, beating the likes of Elvis Presley. Keating also embarked on two world tours, won the Ivor Novello and BMI songwriting awards, released an autobiography, had a role as ambassador for Christian Aid and had sales in excess of 22 million albums worldwide. In 2007 he released two fragrances, based on Sicilian lemon, lavender and Clary sage smells. All proceeds go to the Marie Keating foundation.[citation needed]
Keating performed at the 2006 FIFA World Cup opening party at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, in front of an audience of nearly 250,000 people, and posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine's 10 Years of Naked Centrefolds. On 9 May 2007, Keating became the first international number-one selling foreign artist to perform a concert in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Keating also performed at the Olympic Stadium Indoor Arena. Keating has performed duets with Elton John at Madison Garden in New York and has sung for the Pope twice and performed for Prince Charles at the Prince's Trust 30th birthday, which took place at the Tower of London. He performed on stage for the Swedish Royal family at Crown Princess Victoria's birthday celebrations, and at the opening ceremony of the 19th European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.
2007–10: Boyzone reformation, Songs for My Mother and Winter Songs
On 5 November 2007, Keating confirmed that Boyzone would reunite for a special appearance on the BBC's annual fundraiser, Children in Need, performing a medley of hits, although had not yet commented on the possibility of a new tour or album. Soon, the Boyzone went on a 29-date tour. The tour, taking in cities such as Cardiff, Newcastle, Liverpool, London at the O2 Arena and Wembley, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham, Edinburgh Castle and the RDS in Dublin. A greatest hits collection was released and two new singles in 2008 selling 700,000 copies.
Stephen Gately, close friend and bandmate of Keating, died on 10 October 2009 of a pulmonary edema.
In 2009, Keating co-wrote the song "Believe Again" sung by Niels Brinck, who won the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow where it qualified for the final from the second semi-final and finished in 13th place with 74 points.[15] Following the success of the album Songs for My Mother,[16] he has recorded another entitled Winter Songs. Teaming up again with Songs for My Mother producer Steve Lipson, Keating pulled together eleven songs that evoked memories of winter and Christmas for him. Winter Songs is a mix of traditional and modern festive classics, including tracks from artists such as Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and Sugarland along with perennials "Silent Night" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". The album also includes two and new songs, "It's Only Christmas" and "Scars".[17]
In March 2010 the new Boyzone album "Brother" was released and went to number one in UK and Ireland selling 500,000 copies with very little promotion to add to the singles which sold 175,000 copies.
On 12 November 2010, Keating released his seventh studio album, entitled Duet, in Australia and New Zealand.[18] "Believe Again" was released as the lead single from the album and features guest vocals from Australian singer, Paulini
2010–15: The X Factor, Duet, When Ronan Met Burt and Fires
Keating joined the judging panel of The X Factor in 2010, where he remained for five seasons. He was the winning mentor on two occasions; in 2010 with Altiyan Childs and in 2014 with Marlisa Punzalan.
He joined Boyzone on their tour of the UK and Ireland during February and March 2011 with a 21 date tour of the Ireland and UK with their arena-based Brother Tour, each of the band members received £1 million from it. The band stated that it was a tour dedicated to their brother 'Steo'.[19] Singer/songwriter Guy Sebastian from Australia appeared as the support act.[20] On 21 March 2011, Keating released an album of covers produced by Burt Bacharach titled When Ronan Met Burt.[21] In April he began shooting scenes for his film debut in Australia;[22] the film, Goddess, was released on 14 March 2013.
He performed at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany in front of a crowd of 16,500.
Keating toured Australia and New Zealand in the beginning of 2012 at the state theatre in Sydney, Brisbane convention centre, Melbourne Regent Theatre, Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Canberra Royal Theatre, Wollongong Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Festival Theatre and at Perth Kings Park in front of 29,000 in all making 1.6 million pounds.[24]
In July 2012 he visited Malta and performed with Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja and Italian pop-singer Gigi D'Alessio. He later joined his management for dinner at Palazzo Parisio.[25]
His fifth studio album named Fires was released on 3 September 2012 in the UK and 30 August in Ireland, Germany, Australia and worldwide.[26] It was released through Universal Music and was produced by Greg Wells and co-written by Keating and Gregg Alexander. To promote the record Keating embarked on a short promotional tour on 3 August at the Summarfestivalur in the Faroe Islands in front of 14,000 fans,[citation needed] 5 August at the Þjóðhátíð festival in Iceland and on 17 August at Festas Mar in Portugal as well as appearances in Germany and Australia.[27]
A tour of the UK and Ireland in 2013 saw Keating perform at Colston Hall in Bristol, The O2 Arena, Cardiff International Arena, Brighton Centre, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, LG Arena in Birmingham, Bournemouth International Centre, Sheffield City Hall, Blackpool Opera House, Liverpool Echo Arena, Manchester Apollo, Newcastle City Hall, Clyde Auditorium and AECC in Scotland and The O2 in Ireland to an audience of 80,000 fans, which was predicted to make £3,000,000.[28]
On 21 July the single from the album, also named "Fires", was given its first worldwide release on BBC Radio 2. The video premiered on YouTube on 1 August 2012 at 9 am. It was released as a digital download and CD on 24 August worldwide and 27 August in the UK.[29] "Wasted Light", is the second track on the album and premiered on 3 December 2012. The music video part live, part animated.
In September 2013, Keating teamed up with X Factor judge Dannii Minogue to record a duet of Christmas classic "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" for department store chain Myer's "The Spirit of Christmas 2013" compilation.[30]
2016–2020: The Voice , Time of My Life and Twenty Twenty
On 24 December 2015, Keating was announced as Ricky Martin's replacement on The Voice Australia. Keating joined Jessie J, Delta Goodrem and The Madden Brothers on the show.
Keating released his tenth studio album Time of My Life in February 2016. The single "Let me love you" charted at number 95.
On 7 December 2016, Keating announced he would be stepping down from The Voice Australia. He was replaced by original judge Seal, who returned after a three-year hiatus.
In February 2020, Keating announced the release of his eleventh studio album titled, Twenty Twenty. It is due to be released in May 2020. The single "One of A Kind" charted at number 17.[31]
Boyzone 2013
Boyzone reunited in 2013 to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a group. Keating said in February 2012, "Next year Boyzone will be 20 years gone, so we'll be doing something. We have plans to get various other artists in the mix as well, I know Rizzle Kicks are interested and I have plans to get my nephew Will on a track somewhere in the album"[32]
The new album, BZ20, was released in the summer of 2013. It featured ten new songs and ten re-recorded songs, with two singles and the band will tour at the end of November till the end of the year around the UK and Ireland. In January 2013, it was announced the new CD is likely to include three songs with Stephen Gately's vocals on it.[needs update]
Charity work
In October 2005 shortly after joining Christian Aid and the Trade Justice Campaign in 2004, Keating went to Rome where he was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador via the Food and Agricultural Organisation.[33]
Keating ran in the London Marathon on 13 April 2008 to raise money for Cancer Research, with a personal best time of 3hr 59min.[34] He has also walked the length of Ireland twice, each time raising money for the Marie Keating Foundation, now linked to Cancer Research in the UK. Each year the foundation holds charity balls and various events, raising funds to keep their mobile units on the road
In 2009, Keating climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Comic Relief; joining him were Gary Barlow, Chris Moyles, Ben Shephard, Kimberley Walsh, Denise van Outen, Fearne Cotton, Alesha Dixon and Cheryl Cole.[35]
In June 2009 Keating received a Special Achievement Award from Cancer Research UK – he was singled out for his work with them since 2006. He, along with the Marie Keating Charity, has helped to raise over £1.7 million for the UK charity. This money is used to fund three special mobile units which raise awareness throughout the UK.[36]
In October 2009 he pulled out of the Chicago Marathon due to the sudden death of his bandmate Stephen Gately; he had intended to run in memory of his mother.[37]
In September 2011 he swam the Irish sea 90 km stretch from Dublin to Holyhead with a team of celebrities to raise money for cancer charities and set a new Guinness World Record for open water swimming with an 11-member celebrity team. They raised £1 million for Cancer Research Britain and the Marie Keating Foundation.[38]
In July 2013 he and Brian McFadden joined golf veteran Gary Player at Wentworth in London to play in the annual Gary Player Invitational Charity Pro-Am golf tournament to raise funds for underprivileged children's education.[citation needed]
Awards
Over the years he has won Smash Hits Best Solo Male. He was given a tree in London's Hyde Park for performing for The Prince's Trust.[39] He also has a World Music Award for the best selling Irish artist.[40]
Other work
Presenting
On 3 May 1997, Keating presented the Eurovision Song Contest along with Carrie Crowley.[41] He presented the MTV Europe Music Awards in 1997 and 1999, and co-presented the MTV Asia Awards in 2002 with Mandy Moore. He also hosted Miss World 1998.[42] That same year, Keating co-hosted the Royal Variety Performance alongside Ulrika Jonsson at the Lyceum Theatre in London.[43]
In 1999, Keating presented all nine episodes of the BBC1 talent show Get Your Act Together.
On 20 April 2009, Keating guest co-hosted The Morning Show in Australia alongside Kylie Gillies, while the show's regular male co-host Larry Emdur was on holiday.[44] In addition, he has stood in for Steve Wright on his Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2.[45] He currently presents a Sunday request show on Magic 105.4 FM.[46]
In a section for the Jeremy Clarkson 2009 DVD Duel, Keating was invited to take part in an off-road race to find "the fastest off-road celebrity", along with newsreader Kate Silverton, Rugby player Matt Dawson, and Clarkson.[47] He came third overall, after being forced to abandon the car with only 20 seconds left to complete the course to disarm the on-board time bomb.
In 2010, Keating became a judge and mentor on the Australian version of The X Factor, joining Guy Sebastian, Natalie Imbruglia, and Kyle Sandilands for the second season of the show. During the second season, Keating mentored the Over 25s category and his fellow Boyzone bandmembers helped him in the judges' house selection of the contest. He eventually became the winning mentor with his contestant Altiyan Childs. Keating went on to mentor the Groups for two consecutive years, notably with The Collective finishing third in the fourth season. For the fifth season, he was assigned the Boys category and made series history; both his acts, Taylor Henderson and Jai Waetford, reached the grand-finals and finished runner-up and third place respectively. On the sixth season, Keating became the winning mentor for a second time with Marlisa Punzalan, the youngest contestant and first act from the Girls category to win. On 25 April 2015, it was announced that Keating would not be returning for the seventh season of The X Factor.[48]
On Christmas Eve 2015, during the broadcast of Carols by Candlelight on Channel 9 Australia, it was announced that Keating would be returning to Australian TV screens in 2016 as a coach on the fifth season of The Voice Australia, joining other coaches Jessie J, Delta Goodrem and The Madden Brothers.[49]
In June 2015 he filled in as a guest anchor on the morning slot of UK radio station Magic FM.[50]
In September 2017, Keating was signed to co-host Magic Breakfast alongside Harriet Scott on Magic 105.4 FM running Monday to Fridays, 6 am till 10 am.[51]
Acting
Keating unsuccessfully auditioned for a role in The Hobbit. The film is based on the J. R. R. Tolkien novel of the same name.[52][53]
In April 2011, Keating began working on Goddess, a 2013 romantic comedy film co-starring British actress Laura Michelle Kelly. The film is being directed by Mark Lamprell, who wrote Babe: Pig in the City. In May 2014 Keating provided the singing voice of Postman Pat in the film Postman Pat: The Movie.
In November 2014, he took over the part of 'Guy' in Once from David Hunter, at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, performing the role until March 2015. He was be the fourth principal 'Guy' in the West End production, and the first Irishman to have played the role since Glen Hansard in the Oscar-winning original film, on which the musical is based.[54] His performances in Once received positive reviews from critics. [55]
In 2017, Keating starred alongside Jessica Marais in the fourth season of the Australian drama, Love Child.
Feuds
Louis Walsh
When Keating announced he wanted to take a break from Boyzone, Louis Walsh continued to manage his career. Keating achieved a number one hit with "Life is a Rollercoaster" in 2000 while his album sold 4.4 million copies. Keating and Walsh later agreed to part company and then had a bitter falling out.[56][57] Walsh told the press: "[Keating] wasn't the most talented one – he's not a great singer and he's got no personality."[58] Keating later told Closer magazine: "That man absolutely tried to ruin me and if he thinks we can ever hug and make up he can forget it. I haven't heard from him in three years and I wouldn't have a problem if I never saw him again. He's not a nice character."[59]
The feud between the two men had apparently ended by March 2008,[60] after which Keating helped in selecting the finalists in the groups category in The X Factor.[61]
However, by the time Boyzone celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2013, Walsh had stopped managing the group, claiming his tenure as manager had ended "badly".[citation needed]
Thom Yorke
Keating criticised Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke several times in the press throughout late 2008 and early 2009, calling him a "muppet" and an "idiot" due to Yorke allegedly ignoring Keating at a hotel.[62] Shortly after Keating's remarks, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus also complained about Yorke's alleged rudeness. In response to the accusations, Yorke left a blog on Radiohead's official site for those who were not among "those people I have managed to offend by doing nothing."[63]
Instagram post on Singapore
On 1 March 2020, Keating shared a photo of Singapore's port, and posted that it was shot of tankers being held in Singapore.[64] The singer claimed that ships were not allowed to dock in Singapore's port due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) subsequently debunked his post.[65] Sometime between 2 and 3 March, Keating's post was removed.
Personal life
In April 1998, Keating married Yvonne Connolly. Together, they have three children: a son Jack, born in 1999 and daughters Missy and Ali born in 2001 and 2005.[66][67] In 2009, Keating had a seven-month affair with Boyzone back-up dancer Francine Cornell which resulted in Keating and Connolly separating[citation needed] in 2010; their divorce was finalized in March 2015.[68]
He met his current wife Storm Uechtritz in August 2010 and married her on 17 August 2015.[69] Their son Cooper was born on 27 April 2017.[70] In November 2019, they revealed they were expecting their second child together.[71]
Discography
Main article: Ronan Keating discography
See also: Boyzone discography
Ronan (2000)
Destination (2002)
Turn It On (2003)
Bring You Home (2006)
Songs for My Mother (2009)
Winter Songs (2009)
Duet (2010)
When Ronan Met Burt (2011)
Fires (2012)
Time of My Life (2016)
Twenty Twenty (2020)
Filmography
Goddess (2013) – James Dickens
Postman Pat: The Movie (2014) – Pat Clifton (singing voice)
Another Mother's Son (2016) – Harold Le Druillenec
Love Child (2017) – Lawrence Faber
