One of the best-loved singers of our generation Ronan Keating reveals a truly extraordinary gang of guest vocalists from all walks of musical life to duet on his new album, ‘Twenty Twenty’, out on Decca Records on 1st May.
The powerfully emotive ‘The Big Goodbye’ features Ronan’s long-time friend Robbie Williams and came about in particularly poignant circumstances. The loss of Stephen Gately had affected Robbie almost as much as it had affected the boys in Boyzone. The day of his death, Robbie began writing a song.
Ronan says,
“It was the tenth anniversary of the passing of Stephen from Boyzone and I got an email from Robbie saying: ‘Mate, just saw you on Loose Women with the boys, you’re looking well – but I can’t believe it’s 10 years since Stephen died.’ He sent me the song he had written and the moment I listened to the song I was in tears. Together, Robbie and I changed round the arrangement, adapting the vocals so it worked as a duet. It’s a deeply personal song for both of us.”
Written by the same writing team behind ‘When You Say Nothing at All’, ‘Forever And Ever, Amen’ is another cornerstone moment on the album and sees Ronan duet with country music superstar Shania Twain two decades after a lost collaboration between the pair.
Ronan explains, “Shania and I were meant to do something together 20 years ago on one of her songs, ‘From This Moment’. That never came about, so it felt especially right to reach out now. ‘Forever And Ever, Amen’ is a true country gem so to team up with the original writers and producer of ‘Nothing At All’, twenty years on makes it all the more special.”
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Alison Krauss stars on Ronan’s most-loved hit ‘When You Say Nothing At All’, with Ed Sheeran on guitar. Ronan says,
“Ed’s a pal, and he said he’d love to play guitar on the new version of ‘When You Say Nothing At All’, which is incredible. I reached out to Alison too and for her to agree to duet was the icing on the cake. I owe so much to this song so it’s great that she’s part of this special 2020 version.”
Also joining Ronan is pop star Nina Nesbitt on the heart-warming ballad ‘The One’. Recorded at Metropolis Studios, Ronan says,
“I met Nina at Metropolis and we hit it off straight away. She has a such a lovely way about her and when she went into the vocal booth, I just thought ‘wow’! She sounded incredible.”
Clare Bowen, best known for her role as Scarlett O’Connor on the hit TV series Nashville, joins Ronan on the stunning ‘Love Will Remain’. Ronan says,
“I co-wrote the song with Steve Robson & Rachel Furner and it was going to be a duet all along. My wife, Storm and I are big fans of ‘Nashville’ and we just thought one night, how cool would it be if ‘Scarlett’ would duet with me! So I owe Clare a big thanks.”
Ronan has released some of the defining pop songs of the past two decades which simply had to be featured on the album – ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’ and ‘Lovin’ Each Day’ are here brilliantly reworked, bringing back memories but with a celebratory 2020 twist.
Since the original break-up of Boyzone, one of the most successful British bands of the Nineties, Keating has forged a soaraway solo career: two back-to-back No.1 singles straight out of the gate, 30 consecutive Top 10 singles, 10 studio albums, multiple tours, 20 million records sold on top of the 25 million sold with Boyzone. In other areas, too, he’s happily stretched his wings: judging on both the X Factor and The Voice in Australia, acting for both television drama and film, a highly acclaimed stint on London’s West End and, now, bringing breakfast show entertainment to the nation with his morning radio show on Magic FM with Harriet Scott – accumulating the highest ratings ever in Magic Radio history.
Fans across the country will be thrilled to hear that the four-time Platinum-selling singer and songwriter will be taking his new album to some of the biggest stages in the UK for an extensive summer tour (5th– 27th June), so he can celebrate with the people who have been on this journey with him so far, and more.
The famous names joining Ronan on this special album are a true testament to his influence on shaping modern pop music as well as his many musical achievements since the millennium; not to mention the love and respect shown to him from his friends and peers. This is Ronan’s life work, and he is excited and ready to unleash ‘Twenty Twenty’ into the world.
LIVE DATES:
‘TWENTY TWENTY’ UK & Ireland Tour:
5 June Live at Botanic Gardens – Belfast
6 June Vicar St – Dublin, Ireland
9 June Bridgewater Hall – Manchester
10 June SEC Armadillo – Glasgow
11 June Sage – Gateshead
13 June BIC – Bournemouth
14 June Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
15 June Cliffs Pavilion – Southend
16 June Symphony Hall – Birmingham
18 June Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham
19 June Barbican – York
20 June Bonus Arena – Hull
22 June City Hall – Sheffield
23 June Empire – Liverpool
25 June Eventim Apollo – London
26 June Hippodrome – Bristol
27 June Brighton Centre – Brighton
Find Ronan Keating on his official website.
Ronan Keating’s new album ‘Twenty Twenty’ is out 1st May on Decca Records.
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