Ronan Keating's Country Soul

Ronan Keating's Country Soul

By Peter Cronin

Looking at Ronan Keating's career trajectory - from boy band heartthrob to multi-Platinum selling solo artist - "Country" may not be the first word that comes to mind. But a look (and a listen) below the surface of this Irish-born singer's prodigious output reveals a serious and multi-faceted artist who, through his songwriting and song choices and his massive popular appeal, has emerged as a major international voice for Country Music.

"There's a great relationship between Irish music and Country Music, and I grew up listening to Country," Keating said. "All the TV shows showed American Country artists, and my parents loved the music, so I was engrossed in it as a child and it just stuck with me. There is a part of my soul that is Country Music, and that's why it comes out in what I do."

Keating was 14 years old and working in a Dublin shoe store when he beat out 300 auditioning hopefuls to become a member of Boyzone. The band, cast in the mold of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, experienced phenomenal success in the '90s. Each of their four albums shot to the top of the UK charts, and they landed all of their 16 singles in the Top 3. While Boyzone occasionally hinted at Country, covering songs such as Anne Murray's "You Needed Me," for example, Keating's stylistic leanings became clear from his first solo single in 1999, a cover of the Keith Whitley and Alison Krauss classic, "When You Say Nothing at All." His self-titled debut sold more than 4 million copies, establishing Keating as a star. In 2002, he released his sophomore album, Destination, leading with "If Tomorrow Never Comes," a chart-topping cover of the Garth Brooks smash from 1989.

"My version is not as Country as Garth's," Keating said. "Even 'When You Say Nothing at All,' I turn it into more of a contemporary pop song. But those roots are there, and you feel them. You don't have to be a Country fan to appreciate those songs."

Through his carefully considered, artfully rendered covers, audiences from London to Lisbon to Paris have come to appreciate the lyrical and melodic virtues of contemporary Country Music, and his songwriting has even taught America's Country artists a thing or two about what constitutes a hit. Back in 2001, Keating pitched one of his compositions, "The Long Goodbye," to Brooks & Dunn, who subsequently took the song to No. 1.

"That was a brilliant feeling," Keating said. "It was great for me as a songwriter to be recognized in that part of the world."

If his stardom hasn't yet caught on in the U.S., Keating seems to have the rest of the globe pretty well covered. "All Over Again," the first single from his latest album was a duet with acclaimed British folksinger Kate Rusby, and Keating recently recorded new versions of the song in Italian, French, German, Portuguese and Chinese. Keating partnered with American Country star LeAnn Rimes for another hit duet and video, 2004's "Last Thing on My Mind."

"Ronan is one of my favorite people in the world," Rimes said. "He is such a genuine, kind hearted man. I absolutely loved working with him. He has a very smooth, passionate voice that makes you believe everything he sings."

With the video of their duet in heavy international rotation, Rimes was invited to Switzerland to headline Country Night Gstaad Festival in 2004. Keating joined her to perform their hit song and was invited back to headline this year's event in September.

On the Web: www.ronankeating.com

November 29, 2006