It’s hard to just pick one thing we love about Ronan Keating (fine, his smile). The Irish star has continued to steal our hearts from his days in Boyzone to his solo endeavours, the latter of which has spanned two whole decades. He’s provided hit after hit and while he gears up to drop his eleventh studio album Twenty Twenty (due later this month), we pick out ten of our favourites.
1. ‘Life Is a Rollercoaster’ (Ronan, 2000)
This song is a massive tune for so many reasons. Not only did it come at Keating’s solo rise (a rise that was very much awaited and very well received), but it was actually written by New Radicals’ frontman Gregg Alexander; which is why it mimics the excellence of their hit ‘You Get What You Give.’ But somehow, despite it being intended for the latest New Radicals album (the band would then break up that year), we can’t imagine anyone but Keating singing it.
2. ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’ (Destination, 2002)
The star’s cover of the famous Garth Brooks track has since become one of his biggest hits. Resonating well with fans everywhere, the sweet song about hoping one’s love is enough if tomorrow never comes fit perfectly with Keating’s melodic voice and oh-so-dreamy brand. The hit went straight to number one in the UK, and three other countries, and top ten in 18 countries.
3. ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ (Ronan, 2000)
One of his best, and definitely one his biggest, the cover of the 1988 country hit was Keating’s first solo debut. Recorded primarily for the Notting Hill soundtrack, the buzz of Keating on his own was too good to not pursue and he began work on his debut solo album. The track gained the star his first solo number one in the UK, Ireland and here in NZ.
4. ‘Last Thing on My Mind’ ft. Leann Rimes (Turn It On, 2003)
The gorgeous duet between two of the biggest stars of the early 2000s only proved how effortlessly their voices blended together. With hints of country, it saw Keating step into something new and absolutely excel at it. The track remains one of Keating’s best collabs yet.
5. ‘Fires’ (Fires, 2012)
The lead single from his ninth studio album of the same name only cemented Keating’s status as a pop legend, showing he could still make a catchy pop hit twelve years after his solo debut. He was older, wiser, had a few more heartbreaks under his belt, but he wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
6. ‘Lovin’ Each Day’ (Ronan, 2000)
Keating’s debut album was clearly a good one. The fourth single, also written by New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander, was a bopping hit that matched ‘Life Is a Rollercoaster’ in the iconic 2000s pop sound. Aside from his knack for making covers sound like his own songs, this kind of sound was Ronan at his most Ronan and it became top ten in eleven different countries.
7. ‘This I Promise You’ (Bring It Home, 2006)
The vulnerable but romantic tune became a fan-favourite simply because it was the dreamy side of Keating the world loved. Stripped-back and simple, the track promised a perfect love that would last forever (which, obviously, was intended for us). The following year, Keating would return to a newly reformed Boyzone; but he still kept up his solo endeavours on the side.
8. ‘I Love It When We Do’ (Destination, 2002)
Sensing a pattern in sound? Gregg Alexander also penned this one. It seemed Alexander broke up New Radicals and found his new prodigy in Keating, and it definitely worked. The New Radicals pop-rock 2000s sound suited Keating almost a little too well, and this track only added to the line-up of massive hits he had already released. What a team.
9. ‘Breathe’ (Time Of My Life, 2016)
Off his latest album, this track perfectly represents Keating as the content, happy and in-love star that he is now. Dedicated to his current wife Storm Uechtritz, the track symbolises Keating’s stability and clear headspace, and how he’s living the best years of his life all because of her (aw!). A little more acoustic and folksier than his previous hits, it hints at a new sound for the star that we can’t wait to hear more of.
10. ‘Lost For Words’ (Turn It On, 2003)
The edgy, pop-rock hit saw Keating move on from his New Radicals sound and try and establish his own grooves. Over a punchy beat, Keating ironically sings an entire song about not being able to find anything to say to his current flame. It’s his rock sound, his way of stepping into a new identity and showing he can’t be defined by one specific sound. And it’s certainly one big tune.
Ronan Keating’s eleventh studio album ‘Twenty Twenty’ is out July 24th.
