Irish singer (born 1980)
Brian McFadden
|
---|
|
McFadden in 2012
|
Born
| Brian Nicholas McFadden
(
1980-04-12
)
12 April 1980
(age 44)
|
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Other names
| Bryan McFadden
|
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Occupations
| - Singer
- television presenter
- songwriter
|
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Years active
| 1998?present
|
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Spouses
|
(
m.
2002;
div.
2004)
(
m.
2012;
div.
2017)
|
---|
Children
| 3
|
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Relatives
| Susan McFadden
(sister)
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Musical career
|
Genres
| |
---|
Instruments
| |
---|
Discography
| Brian McFadden discography
|
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Labels
| |
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Formerly of
| Westlife
|
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Website
| brianmcfadden
.com
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Musical artist
|
Brian Nicholas McFadden
(born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter. He rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band
Westlife
. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo album,
Irish Son
.
He has since released four studio albums:
Set in Stone
,
Wall of Soundz
,
The Irish Connection
, and
Otis
.
Early life
[
edit
]
McFadden was born in
Dublin
and was raised
Catholic
.
[1]
Throughout his younger years, he always had an interest in singing, dancing and football.
[2]
Along with his sister
Susan
, McFadden attended the Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin,
[2]
which led him to doing stage and TV roles, including a role in the Irish TV show
Finbar's Class
, a comedy revolving around a group of student-singers.
[3]
In early 1998, he formed a pop-
R&B
group with his friends Tim and Darragh, called
Cartel
, and performed live gigs in Dublin pubs.
[2]
When the band passed their credentials to prominent Irish music manager
Louis Walsh
, McFadden was asked to come to the audition for the formation of a new band that would later be called Westlife.
Music career
[
edit
]
1998?2004: Westlife
[
edit
]
In June 1998, McFadden auditioned for Irish boy band
Westlife
and was against another blonde
Nicky Byrne
and eventually both joined the group alongside
Kian Egan
,
Mark Feehily
, and
Shane Filan
. After joining, he changed the spelling of his name from Brian to Bryan to make it easier to sign autographs. With McFadden as part of the group, Westlife were under the music mogul
Simon Cowell
and released their first single,
Swear It Again
, which was the group's first and only single to have charted in the US in 2000, four Irish No. 1 studio albums, and a No. 1 greatest hits album. They also released seventeen Irish top 5 singles including the hit single "
Uptown Girl
," which peaked within the top 10 in seven European countries and also in Australia and New Zealand. In March 2004, McFadden left the group to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. He subsequently began a solo career and decided to revert the spelling of his first name back to its original, "Brian." Before launching his solo career, he co-wrote the song "
If My World Stopped Turning
," which was sung by Ireland's entry
Chris Doran
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
.
2004?2006: Going solo and
Irish Son
[
edit
]
Following his departure from Westlife, McFadden signed to major record label,
Sony BMG
.
[4]
In September 2004, he released his debut solo single "
Real to Me
," which became his first solo No. 1 single in
Britain
, Ireland, Denmark and Norway.
[5]
His second single and title track, "
Irish Son
," peaked within the top 10 on the British and Ireland Singles Charts. Following the release of the two singles, McFadden released his debut solo album,
Irish Son
,
in November 2004 and it peaked within the top 10 on the
Irish Albums Chart
. McFadden co-wrote most of the songs on the album with
Guy Chambers
, best known for his successful collaboration with
Robbie Williams
and INXS. The third single "
Almost Here
," a duet with Australian singer
Delta Goodrem
became McFadden's second No. 1 single in Ireland as a solo artist and his first in Australia
[6]
and gained a platinum accreditation there.
[7]
The fourth and final single, "
Demons
" peaked within the top 30 on the charts in Ireland and Britain. McFadden continued writing songs for artists such as
Il Divo
and
Girls Aloud
, as well as co-writing the theme song "
Together We Are One
" for the
2006 Commonwealth Games
.
[2]
That same year, McFadden collaborated with American singer
LeAnn Rimes
on the song, "
Everybody's Someone
."
2007?2010: Label change,
Set in Stone
and
Wall of Soundz
[
edit
]
While working on the second album, McFadden's record label, Sony BMG insisted that he work with an artists & repertoire (A&R) man, after disappointing sales of his last album, which only sold 800,000 copies worldwide.
[4]
However, there were claims that McFadden's A&R man did not want McFadden to work with
Guy Chambers
, who had previously worked with McFadden on his last album and fought about his songs and musical direction.
[4]
His A&R man wanted him to make songs like
James Morrison
,
Paolo Nutini
, and the
Scissor Sisters
but McFadden insisted he make songs that are of his style.
[4]
It was later revealed in March 2007 that McFadden parted ways with Sony BMG. Later that year, he set up his own record label under the name of
BMF Records
and released his new single "
Like Only a Woman Can
" in Ireland, through the label. "Like Only a Woman Can" became his third Irish No. 1 single as a solo artist.
[8]
In early 2008, McFadden signed to
Universal Music Australia
[9]
and released the single there in April 2008, which peaked within the
ARIA
top 15.
[8]
Following the release of "Like Only a Woman Can," McFadden released his second studio album,
Set in Stone
.
The album peaked in Australia at No. 5 on the
ARIA Albums Chart
.
[10]
Other singles were released from the album: "
Twisted
," which peaked within the top 30 on the
ARIA Singles Chart
[11]
and "
Everything But You
," which failed to chart the ARIA top 50.
In April 2010, McFadden released "
Just Say So
," which features American rapper
Kevin Rudolf
. The single debuted on the
ARIA Singles Chart
at No. 1 and stayed there for three weeks.
[12]
It spent seven weeks in the ARIA top ten and thirteen weeks in the ARIA top 50 and gained a platinum accreditation.
[13]
[12]
Following the release of "Just Say So," McFadden released his third studio album,
Wall of Soundz
,
in Australia on 23 April 2010. The album was originally going to be released as a side-project McFadden embarked on with American songwriter Rob Conley but both decided to release it as McFadden's third solo album.
[14]
It debuted at No. 27 on the ARIA Albums Chart and spent only three weeks in the ARIA top 50.
[15]
"
Chemical Rush
" was the second single released from the album in June 2010 and peaked at No. 12 on the charts.
[16]
In September 2010, McFadden released the third single entitled "
Mistakes
," a duet with his then fiancee
Delta Goodrem
. McFadden also recorded a duet with
Ronan Keating
on Keating's duet album, a cover of the
Bee Gees
' "
To Love Somebody
."
2011?2015: "Just the Way You Are" and
The Irish Connection
[
edit
]
On 25 February 2011, McFadden released the new single "
Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)
". The song was criticised by some as a glorification of
date rape
,
[17]
as a result of which he cancelled the shooting of a proposed pop video for the song, asked that the song not be played on the radio and pledged via his Twitter account to donate all proceeds from the song to rape victims.
[18]
"Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)" debuted on the
ARIA Singles Chart
at number sixty-one on 8 March 2011, and peaked at number forty-nine the next week.
[19]
[20]
In June 2011, McFadden appeared on Australian radio show
The Kyle & Jackie O Show
to launch both of his new singles "Come Party" and "That's How Life Goes", which was co-written by singer, songwriter and producer
Ray Ruffin
. Despite heavy promotion and appearances on TV shows such as
Dancing with the Stars
, the new singles failed to impact the charts at all, which was surprising considering his high-profile appearances on
Australia's Got Talent
. Some of this has been attributed to the negative press surrounding his previous single "
Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)
". This, as well as his much-publicized split with
Delta Goodrem
, appeared to have had a negative impact on his music career.
[21]
McFadden released his new single "Wrap My Arms" on 20 January 2012 in Australia.
[22]
The song was used in a promo for
Home and Away
and it managed to peak at No. 70 on the
ARIA top 100
.
[23]
On 13 September 2012, McFadden announced the release of his fourth studio album,
The Irish Connection
, featuring covers of his favourite Irish songs as well as duets with
Ronan Keating
and
Sinead O'Connor
. The album was recorded in both Sydney and Dublin and features none of McFadden's past five single releases, which have not appeared in an album format to date.
On 18 September 2012, Ronan Keating announced that McFadden would be joining him on his 2013 UK Fires Tour.
[24]
2016?present: Boyzlife
[
edit
]
Boyzlife is a duo consisting of
Keith Duffy
and McFadden, who previously appeared as members of '90s and '00s boybands Boyzone and Westlife, respectively, hence the name. In 2020, they released their debut album,
Strings Attached
.
[25]
In February 2020,
Keith Duffy
invited
John Junior
,
Mental Health Activist
on stage with McFadden on their Boyzlife tour to share his mental health journey with their fans. Junior travels around the United Kingdom with Charlie the Duck, who accompanies him, encouraging people to speak up about
mental health
. Duffy is friends with Junior and supports his campaign to raise awareness for
mental health
.
[26]
On 19 January 2022, the duo announced the release of their second studio album,
Old School
, which charted poorly due to lack of promotion.
[27]
Television and radio career
[
edit
]
In 2008, McFadden took on the role of television presenter as co-host of FOX8's
Football Superstar
in Australia. He reprised his role for the second season in 2009. In August 2009, McFadden appeared as a guest judge on
Australian Idol
.
In 2010, McFadden became one of the new judges on
Australia's Got Talent
replacing
Red Symons
alongside
Kyle Sandilands
who replaced
Tom Burlinson
and
Dannii Minogue
. He was a judge for three years, but was not asked back for the seventh season.
[28]
In season 6, McFadden had a controversial dismissal of
Owen Campbell
, after a small argument where it appeared that McFadden did not understand the outlaw style genre of the contestant and persona he was portraying which may have played a part in his ratings drop which led to him leaving the show.
[
citation needed
]
In late 2008, McFadden teamed up with singer
Ricki-Lee Coulter
and former
Big Brother
host
Mike Goldman
to present the
Summer Breakfast Show
on
2Day FM
. In September 2009, McFadden returned to radio by co-hosting on the breakfast show on 2dayFM with Jackie O and Andrew G, replacing host
Kyle Sandilands
for a short period of time.
2013 saw McFadden and his wife at the time
Vogue Williams
come in second place on
ITV
dancing show
Stepping Out
, hosted by
Davina McCall
.
In 2014, McFadden co-hosted the
Channel 5
dating game show
Stand By Your Man
alongside former
Freshly Squeezed
co-host
Laura Jackson
.
[29]
In September 2014, McFadden began hosting daytime
ITV
series
Who's Doing the Dishes?
[30]
The show returned for a second series in September 2015 and a third in September 2016 making over 90 episodes in total.
[31]
In January 2015, McFadden took part in celebrity talent show
Get Your Act Together
.
[32]
In December 2015, McFadden and
Vogue Williams
took part in a celebrity couples edition of
Catchphrase
.
In 2016, McFadden participated in the
third series
of
The Jump
on
Channel 4
. He was the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from the show.
[33]
In 2019, McFadden took part in the
eleventh series
of
Dancing on Ice
, alongside professional partner
Alex Murphy
. He finished in fourth place, after a skate-off with
Saara Aalto
.
Filmography
[
edit
]
- Television
- Guest appearances
Personal life
[
edit
]
McFadden married then-
Atomic Kitten
singer
Kerry Katona
on 5 January 2002 in Rathfeigh,
County Meath
, Ireland.
[35]
They have two daughters. They divorced in 2006.
[36]
In 2004, McFadden began dating Australian singer
Delta Goodrem
, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". They were engaged but the pair ended their relationship in 2011.
[37]
He married Irish model
Vogue Williams
in 2012 in
Florence
, Italy. They separated in 2015
[38]
[39]
and divorced in 2017.
In 2018, McFadden received a £450 fine and was banned from driving for six months at a Nottingham court after accruing 12 penalty points for four separate speeding offences.
[40]
[41]
In December 2019, McFadden announced his engagement to physical education teacher Danielle Parkinson on Twitter after three years of dating.
[42]
[43]
McFadden announced in November 2020 that he and Parkinson were
expecting
.
[44]
They welcomed their daughter on 16 May 2021.
[45]
Discography
[
edit
]
Solo
[
edit
]
Boyzlife
[
edit
]
- Strings Attached
(2020)
- Old School
(2022)
[46]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
APRA Awards
[
edit
]
The
APRA Awards
are presented annually from 1982 by the
Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.
[47]
ARIA Music Awards
[
edit
]
The
ARIA Music Awards
are a set of annual ceremonies presented by
Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the
music of Australia
. They commenced in 1987.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kraines, Talia (18 November 2004).
"Brian McFadden ? Irish Son Review"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
21 February
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Bars - Pubs and Clubs"
.
www.pubsandclubs.com.au
. Archived from
the original
on 20 March 2012
. Retrieved
9 September
2019
.
- ^
"Brian McFadden - Interview - The Cafe"
. YouTube.
Archived
from the original on 3 November 2021
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Cameron Adams (27 March 2008)
Brian McFadden discovered real life after Westlife
Herald Sun
. (Herald and Weekly Times). Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
"Brian McFadden ? Real to Me @ acharts.us"
.
Music Square
. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
- ^
Hung Medien (20 March 2005)
Brian McFadden ? Almost Here
australian-charts.com ? Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
ARIA Charts ? Accreditations ? 2005 Singles
Archived
15 May 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA). Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
a
b
Like Only a Woman Can
. acharts.us. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
- ^
Brian McFadden joins the Backstreet Boys tour!
Archived
6 July 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
Accessallareas.net.au ? (AAA Entertainment). Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
Hung Medien (4 May 2008)
Brian McFadden ? Set in Stone
Archived
24 October 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
australian-charts.com ? Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
Hung Medien (3 August 2008)
Brian McFadden ? Twisted
Archived
24 October 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
australian-charts.com ? Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
a
b
Hung Medien (25 April 2010)
Brian McFadden ? Just Say So
australian-charts.com ? Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
ARIA Charts ? Accreditations ? 2010 Singles
Archived
27 December 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA). Retrieved 23 August 2010
- ^
Brian McFadden unleashes Wallz Of Soundz
Archived
22 April 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
Accessallareas.net.au ? Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
Hung Medien (5 September 2010)
Brian McFadden ? Wallz Of Soundz
australian-charts.com ? Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^
Hung Medien (27 July 2010)
Brian McFadden ? Chemical Rush
australian-charts.com ? Retrieved 2010-00-25.
- ^
Clem Bastow,
Some Days I Love My Job More Than Others
Inpress Magazine
, 2 March 2011
- ^
"Universal grounds Brian McFadden video clip"
.
Heraldsun.com.au
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
"Chartifacts ? Week Commencing: 7th March 2011"
. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from
the original
on 16 February 2011
. Retrieved
8 March
2011
.
- ^
"Top 50 Singles Chart - Australian Record Industry Association"
. Ariacharts.com.au. Archived from
the original
on 2 March 2009
. Retrieved
3 April
2012
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
25 July 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
iTunes
.
- ^
The ARIA Report. Week Commencing ~ 30 April 2012 ~ Issue #1157
. Pandora Archives. Retrieved 27 October 2012
- ^
"Fires - The New Album Out Now"
. Ronan Keating. 2 November 2012. Archived from
the original
on 16 November 2012
. Retrieved
16 December
2012
.
- ^
Crumlish, Callum (17 July 2020).
"Boyzlife review: Strings Attached leaves something to be desired in otherwise good album"
.
Daily Express
. Retrieved
4 January
2024
.
- ^
"Real Housewives of Cheshire star is launching a wellness hub after battling depression and anxiety"
.
Manchester Evening News
. February 2020.
- ^
Wilson, Martha (19 January 2022).
"Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden reveal new album details for Boyzlife supergroup"
.
York Press
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
"Brian McFadden tipped to be fired from Australia's Got Talent after ratings disaster"
.
Independent
. Independent.ie
. Retrieved
16 December
2012
.
- ^
Warner, Sam (27 March 2014).
"Brian McFadden to host Channel 5's dating show Stand by Your Man"
.
Digitalspy.co.uk
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
Silverstein, Adam (24 April 2014).
"Brian McFadden to host ITV daytime show Who's Doing the Dishes?"
.
Digitalspy.co.uk
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
"Alex Wiseman interviews Brian McFadden of BoyzLife"
.
Iceni Magazine
. 18 June 2018
. Retrieved
17 August
2023
.
- ^
"Get Your Act Together Episode 1"
.
Itv.com
. 18 January 2015
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
Sandwell, Ian (23 December 2015).
"Brian McFadden has signed up for the new series of The Jump"
.
Digitalspy.com
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
"The Chase: Celebrity Special Episode 5"
.
Itv.com
. 27 September 2014
. Retrieved
17 January
2016
.
- ^
"Westlife's Brian McFadden Marries"
.
RTE.ie
.
- ^
"Katona divorces husband No 2"
.
Sky News
. 16 September 2011
. Retrieved
6 April
2021
.
- ^
"Goodrem and McFadden split"
.
ABC News
. 1 April 2011
. Retrieved
6 April
2021
.
- ^
"Vogue Williams breaks silence on split from Brian McFadden"
. 13 July 2015.
- ^
"Shock as Vogue Williams and Brian McFadden announce split"
.
evoke.ie
. 7 July 2015. Archived from
the original
on 10 July 2015
. Retrieved
8 July
2015
.
- ^
"Brian Mcfaddenさんのツイ?ト: "Just left court in Nottingham. I was Clocked doing 39 in a 30 zone. 6 months suspension and £450 fine. Drink driver crashed his car he got 12 months and an £85 fine. As far as driving to my gigs the prosecution suggested I tweet my followers for a lift! Joke"
"
. Archived from
the original
on 8 September 2018
. Retrieved
8 September
2018
.
- ^
"Brian Mcfadden Twitter ?????: "Had 9 PTS already. 67 in a 60 69 in a 60 and 60 in a 50… "
"
. Archived from
the original
on 8 September 2018
. Retrieved
8 September
2018
.
- ^
Brian McFadden,
"@BrianMcFadden Tweet"
,
Twitter
, 23 December 2019
- ^
Vickie Scullard,
"Brian McFadden announces engagement to Danielle Parkinson in a really understated way"
,
Manchester Evening News
, 23 December 2019
- ^
"Brian McFadden and fiancee Danielle Parkinson are having a baby"
.
Metro
. 30 November 2020
. Retrieved
11 January
2021
.
- ^
"Brian McFadden and Danielle Parkinson welcome first child after tragic miscarriage"
.
Mirror.co.uk
. 16 May 2021.
- ^
Wilson, Martha (19 January 2022).
"Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden reveal new album details for Boyzlife supergroup"
.
York Press
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
"APRA History"
.
Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) |
Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society
(AMCOS)
. Retrieved
25 April
2022
.
- ^
"Nominations > Dance Work of the Year ? 2011"
. Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2011. Archived from
the original
on 16 October 2011
. Retrieved
16 January
2012
.
- ^
2010 ARIA Nominations Announced
Archived
2 October 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
Take40 Australia
(mcm entertainment). Retrieved 28 September 2010.
External links
[
edit
]
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Studio albums
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Singles
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Related articles
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Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Video albums
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Concert tours
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Related
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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