Danny O'Donoghue

Daniel John Mark Luke O'Donoghue (born 3 October 1980)[2] is an Irish singer-songwriter known for being the frontman of the Irish rock band The Script and as a coach on the first two series of the television singing talent show The Voice UK. He was earlier a member of the Irish boy band Mytown.

Danny O'Donoghue
O'Donoghue performing with The Script
Background information
Birth nameDaniel John Mark Luke O'Donoghue
Born (1980-10-03) 3 October 1980[1]
Dublin, Ireland
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • panelist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
Years active1998–present
LabelsSony Music Entertainment
Associated actsThe Script, Mytown

Early life

Danny O'Donoghue was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Shay O'Donoghue, a member of the band The Dreams, and Ailish O'Donoghue. He is the youngest of six children and was raised in Ballinteer, Dublin.[1] As a child, he was initially against the idea of being a musician; however, he ended up dropping out of school to pursue a musical career.[3]

Early career

O'Donoghue was originally a member of a late 1990s band called Mytown with friend (and now also band member of The Script) Mark Sheehan, after being signed to Universal Records in 1999. After its moderate success, O'Donoghue moved to Los Angeles with Sheehan to write songs and produce for artists such as Britney Spears, Boyz II Men and TLC.[4]

After one year of writing, O'Donoghue and Sheehan moved back to Dublin and, recruiting drummer Glen Power, started working on their own material. They formed the band The Script in 2001.[5]

The Script

The band released their eponymous debut album on 8 August 2008. O'Donoghue co-wrote all the songs on the album. The album went on to become a commercial success, especially in their home country of Ireland, peaking at number one on the Irish Album Chart.[6] The band has since released three more albums: Science and Faith in September 2010, #3 in September 2012, and No Sound Without Silence in September 2014.[7] The Script have toured since early March 2013 for their #3 tour in the UK. They performed in some of the UK's largest arenas and cities such Birmingham, London and Manchester.

The Voice UK

In 2012 O'Donoghue made his first appearance in The Voice UK alongside Jessie J, will.i.am and Tom Jones as a coach. The decision was supported by bandmates Glen Power and Mark Sheehan, who said: "Danny did The Voice to put a face to The Script. We know about producing, song writing and performing – we’ve been doing it since we were 14 or 15. Danny on a show about singing was good for us. People saw how passionate he is about music, how much it means to him and it made our band better known."[8] The appointment of O'Donoghue as coach initially drew criticism, with Twitter users branding him "Danny I Dunno Who" and comedian James Corden joking about it at the 2012 BRIT Awards.

O'Donoghue retaliated saying "James who? Whatever. It’s up to other people to make up their own minds. I know I’m on this show for what I’ve done in my career. I’ve spent 15 years in the music industry, it’s all I know."[9] Since then, however, the show has helped contribute to O'Donoghue's popularity, with O'Donoghue stating there was a "big outpouring of love for The Script" but adding that it "could have gone the other way." In the first series, he coached Bo Bruce, who went on to become the runner-up. Since then, she has had moderate success. He was asked to appear as a judge for The Voice again in 2013 after leading 'Team Danny' to great success.[10] In the second series, Andrea Begley from his team went on to unexpectedly win.

O'Donoghue co-wrote the track "Alive" for Bo Bruce's album Before I Sleep. On 16 July 2013, O'Donoghue announced he was leaving the show to concentrate on The Script.[11] He was replaced for the third series by Ricky Wilson.

Personal life

O'Donoghue's father, Shay, died of stomach aneurysm on 14 February 2008, at the age of 63. The rose tattoo on O'Donoghue's left arm[12] and the song "If You Could See Me Now" from their album #3 are dedicated to the memory of his father. His mother Ailish died 8 February 2019, almost 11 years after her husband.[13][14]

References
  1. "Danny O'Donoghue". Glamour Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  2. "Andi O' Donoghue on Twitter". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  3. Day, Elizabeth (27 May 2012). "Danny O'Donoghue: 'I idolised Dad. I'd bring home my songs to him like paychecks'". The Observer. London. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  4. Day, Elizabeth (27 May 2012). "Danny O'Donoghue: 'I idolised Dad. I'd bring home my songs to him like paychecks'". The Observer. London. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  5. "Oh Danny boy! Script revel in chart success". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  6. "Chart History". Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  7. "The Script".
  8. "The Script - Biography". Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  9. Hooton, Christopher. "The Voice's Danny O'Donoghue hits back at 'Danny I Dunno Who' jokes". Metro. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  10. Bray, Elisa (5 October 2012). "The Script find a voice". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  11. Sperling, Daniel. "Danny O'Donoghue leaves 'The Voice' UK". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  12. Day, Elizabeth (27 May 2012). "Danny O'Donoghue: 'I idolised Dad. I'd bring home my songs to him like paychecks'". The Observer. London. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  13. Pattison, Brynmor (14 February 2019). "Tributes paid as The Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue's mum Ailish dies suddenly". MSN. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  14. "The death has occurred of Ailish O'DONOGHUE (née McLoughlin)". RIP.ie. RIP.ie. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
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