Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter who rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo album, ''

Irish Son ''Irish Son'' is the debut solo album by Irish singer Brian McFadden. It was released on 29 November 2004. McFadden signed with Sony Music following his departure from boy band Westlife in 2004.Cameron Adams (27 March 2008Brian McFadden discovere ...

.'' He has since released four studio albums: '' Set in Stone'', ''

Wall of Soundz ''Wall of Soundz'' is the third studio album from Irish singer-songwriter, Brian McFadden. It was released in Australia on 23 April 2010. The album debuted on the ARIA Albums Chart at #27, its highest peak to date, and spent only three weeks in ...

'', '' The Irish Connection'', and ''

Otis Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

''.

Early life

McFadden was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Throughout his younger years, he always had an interest in singing, dancing and football. Along with his sister

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

, McFadden attended the Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin, 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-swingers. 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. When the band passed their credentials to prominent Irish music manager

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later be ...

, McFadden was asked to come to the audition for the formation of a new band that would later be called Westlife.

Music career

1998–2004: Westlife

In June 1998, McFadden auditioned for Irish boy band

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 Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

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 Ireland was represented by Chris Doran and the song "If My World Stopped Turning" in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. Before Eurovision You're a Star RTÉ used the ''You're a Star'' talent contest to select the Irish entry for the Eurovisio ...

," which was sung by Ireland's entry

Chris Doran Christopher Doran (born 22 November 1979) is an Irish singer from Waterford. He was the winner of Ireland's ''You're a Star'' 2003-2004 talent search competition to find Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest entry. The competition held auditions thr ...

in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.

2004–2006: Going solo and ''Irish Son''

Following his departure from Westlife, McFadden signed to major record label,

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

.Cameron Adams (27 March 2008
Brian McFadden discovered real life after Westlife
''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald ...

''. (Herald and Weekly Times). Retrieved 25 September 2010. 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."Brian McFadden – Real to Me @ acharts.us"
''Music Square''. Retrieved 25 March 2008. His second single and title track, "

," 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, ''

,'' 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 Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

and INXS. The third single " Almost Here," a duet with Australian singer

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive wee ...

became McFadden's second No. 1 single in Ireland as a solo artist and his first in Australia and gained a platinum accreditation there.ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Singles
''

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

'' (ARIA). Retrieved 25 September 2010. The fourth and final single, "

Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime ...

" peaked within the top 30 on the charts in Ireland and Britain. McFadden continued writing songs for artists such as

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...

and Girls Aloud, as well as co-writing the theme song "

Together We Are One "Together We Are One" is a song written by Guy Chambers, Delta Goodrem and Brian McFadden, produced by Guy Chambers and Richard Flack for the album ''Commonwealth Games: Melbourne 2006 Opening Ceremony'' (2006). Due to the positive response tha ...

" for the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. That same year, McFadden collaborated with American singer

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chri ...

on the song, "

Everybody's Someone "Everybody's Someone" is the second single taken from American singer LeAnn Rimes' album '' Whatever We Wanna''. The track features vocals from former Westlife singer Brian McFadden. The song also appeared on the Australian version of McFadden's ...

2007–2010: Label change, ''Set in Stone'' and ''Wall of Soundz''

While working on the second album, McFadden's record label, Sony BMG has released insisted that he work with an A&R man, after disappointing sales of his last album, which only sold 800,000 copies worldwide. 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. His A&R man wanted him to make songs like James Morrison, Paolo Nutini, and the

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) ...

but McFadden insisted he make songs that are of his style. 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.Like Only a Woman Can
acharts.us. Retrieved 30 March 2008. In early 2008, McFadden signed to

Universal Music Australia Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd. (UMA) is the largest Australian music corporation. It is a division of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Australia's corporate headquarters are located in Sydney, Australia. Labels Universal Musi ...

and released the single there in April 2008, which peaked within the

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

top 15. 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. Other singles were released from the album: " Twisted," which peaked within the top 30 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

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

at No. 1 and stayed there for three weeks.Hung Medien (25 April 2010
Brian McFadden – Just Say So
australian-charts.com – Retrieved 25 September 2010. It spent seven weeks in the ARIA top ten and thirteen weeks in the ARIA top 50 and gained a platinum accreditation.
''

'' (ARIA). Retrieved 23 August 2010 Following the release of "Just Say So," McFadden released his third studio album, ''

,'' 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. It debuted at No. 27 on the ARIA Albums Chart and spent only three weeks in the ARIA top 50. " Chemical Rush" was the second single released from the album in June 2010 and peaked at No. 12 on the charts. In September 2010, McFadden released the third single entitled " Mistakes," a duet with his then fiancée

. McFadden also recorded a duet with

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...

on Keating's duet album, a cover of the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

' " To Love Somebody."

2011–2012: Just The Way You and ''The Irish Connection''

On 25 February 2011, McFadden released a new single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)." The song was criticised by some as a glorification of date rape, 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. "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)" debuted on the

at number sixty-one on 8 March 2011, and peaked at number forty-nine the next week. In June 2011, McFadden appeared on

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n radio show ''

The Kyle & Jackie O Show ''The Kyle and Jackie O Show'' is an Australian breakfast radio show hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on KIIS 106.5 in Sydney. The show is syndicated in the late drive slot on the KIIS Network following ''Will & Woody'' across Austr ...

'' to launch both of his new singles ''Come Party'' and ''That's How Life Goes'', which was co-written by multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and producer Ray Ruffin. Despite heavy promotion and appearances on TV shows such as ''

Dancing With the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'', the new singles failed to impact the charts at all, which was surprising considering his high-profile appearances on ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the ''Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...

''. Some of this has been attributed to the negative press surrounding his previous single "

Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar) "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)" is a song by the Irish singer Brian McFadden. The song was written and produced by McFadden and Robert Conley. The single was released on 24 February 2011, peaking at #49 on the ARIA Singles Chart. A vide ...

." This, as well as his much-publicized split with

, appear to have had a negative impact on his music career. McFadden released his new single "Wrap My Arms" on 20 January 2012 in Australia. The song was used in a promo for

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

and it managed to peak at 70 in the ARIA top 100. 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

and

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...

. The album was recorded in both Sydney and Dublin. This album features none of McFadden's past five single releases, which have not appeared in an album format to date. On 18 September 2012,

announced that McFadden would be joining him on his 2013 UK Fires Tour.

2016–present: Boyzlife

Boyzlife is a duo consisting of Keith Duffy and McFadden, who previously appeared as members of '90s and '00s boybands Boyzone and Westlife, respectively. 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 Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...

. Duffy is friends with Junior and supports his campaign to raise awareness for

. On 19 January 2022, the duo announced the release of their second studio album, ''Old School''.

Television and radio career

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 ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Ido ...

''. In 2010, McFadden became one of the new judges on ''

'' replacing

Red Symons Redmond Symons (born 13 June 1949) is an English-born Australian musician, and television and radio personality. He was the lead guitarist in the band Skyhooks, the snide judge of 'Red Faces' (a segment of the long-running variety show ''Hey H ...

alongside

Kyle Sandilands Kyle Dalton Sandilands (born 10 June 1971) is an Australian radio host and television personality. He is currently the co-host, with Jackie O, of the weekday morning radio program '' The Kyle and Jackie O Show'' on Sydney's radio station KIIS ...

who replaced Tom Burlinson and

Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show '' Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on t ...

. He was a judge for three years, but was not asked back for the seventh season. 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. In late 2008, McFadden teamed up with singer Ricki-Lee Coulter and former ''Big Brother'' host

Mike Goldman Michael Goldman (born 7 November 1972), is an Australian actor, television and radio host and voice over. He has appeared in television roles, mini-series and films like Young Rock, The Wilds and A Place to Call Home. He is the son of televisio ...

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

for a short period of time. 2013 saw McFadden and his former wife Vogue Williams come in second place on ITV dancing show '' Stepping Out'', hosted by

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show '' Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's ''Streetmate'' (199 ...

. In 2014, McFadden co-hosted the Channel 5 dating game show ''Stand By Your Man'' alongside former '' Freshly Squeezed'' co-host Laura Jackson. In September 2014, McFadden began hosting daytime ITV series ''

Who's Doing the Dishes? ''Who's Doing the Dishes?'' is a cooking game show that aired on ITV from 1 September 2014 to 14 October 2016. It is hosted by Brian McFadden Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter w ...

'' The show returned for a second series in September 2015 and a third in September 2016. In January 2015, McFadden took part in celebrity talent show ''

Get Your Act Together ''Get Your Act Together'' was a British talent show that began airing on ITV on 18 January 2015, hosted by Stephen Mulhern. The show features celebrities learning various different acts, such as juggling, singing, impressions and escapology, and ...

''. In December 2015, McFadden and Vogue Williams took part in a celebrity couples edition of ''

Catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

''. In 2016, McFadden participated in the third series of '' The Jump'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

. He was the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from the show. In 2019, McFadden took part in the eleventh series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their prof ...

'', alongside professional partner Alex Murphy. He finished in fourth place, after a skate-off with Saara Aalto.

Filmography

;Television *''

'' (2010–2012) – Judge *'' Football Superstar'' (2008) – Presenter *''Summer Breakfast Show'' (2008) – Co-presenter *''

'' (2009) – Guest judge *'' Stepping Out'' (2013) – Contestant *''Stand By Your Man'' (2014) – Co-presenter *''

'' (2014–2016) – Presenter *''

'' (2015) – Contestant *'' The Jump'' (2016) – Contestant *''

'' (2019) – Contestant ;Guest appearances *'' The Chase: Celebrity Special'' (27 September 2014) – Contestant *'' Catchphrase: Celebrity Couples Special'' (5 December 2015) – Contestant *'' The Chase: Text Santa Special'' (18 December 2015) – Contestant

Personal life

McFadden married then- Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona on 5 January 2002 in Rathfeigh,

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

, Ireland. They have two daughters. They divorced in 2006. In 2004, McFadden began dating Australian singer

, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". They were engaged but the pair ended their relationship in 2011. He married Irish model Vogue Williams in 2012 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, Italy. They separated in 2015 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. In December 2019, McFadden announced his engagement to PE teacher Danielle Parkinson on Twitter after three years of dating. McFadden announced in November 2020 that he and Parkinson were expecting. They welcomed their daughter on 16 May 2021.

Discography

Solo

* ''

'' (2004) * '' Set in Stone'' (2008) * ''

'' (2010) * '' The Irish Connection'' (2013) * ''

'' (2019)

Boyzlife

* ''Strings Attached'' (2020) * ''Old School'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982. ! , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, "Chemical Rush" (Brian McFadden, Antonio Egizii, David Musumeci, James Maas) , Dance Work of the Year , , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan=2,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, " Just Say So" , Most Popular Australian Single , , rowspan=2, 2010 ARIA Nominations Announced
'' Take40 Australia'' (mcm entertainment). Retrieved 28 September 2010. , - , Brian McFadden , Most Popular Australian Artist ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Brian 1980 births Irish male singers Irish pop singers Westlife members Australia's Got Talent Musicians from Dublin (city) Irish expatriates in Australia Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom People from Artane, Dublin Living people