Ryan O'Shaughnessy

Ryan O’Shaughnessy, born in Skerries, Dublin, first gained notice as a child actor before his music path advanced sharply in May 2012 with a finalist appearance on the ITV competition Britain’s Got Talent. For nine years he had portrayed Mark Halpin on the long-running Irish soap Fair City, departing the series in 2010 both to pursue formal music studies and to become a member of the boy band Mission 4. That group had been put together by Kim Glover, the one-time manager of New Kids on the Block and B*Witched. When efforts to promote Mission 4’s debut album stalled—partly because of Ireland’s economic downturn—he tried out for RTE One’s The Voice of Ireland, only to be eliminated in its opening live broadcast. The experience nevertheless paved the way for an extended run on Britain’s Got Talent that ultimately earned him a solo contract with RCA. His first single, the folk-tinged original “No Name,” which he performed twice before millions of viewers during the talent show, reached the U.K. Top 40 and climbed to number three in Ireland. The self-titled EP that followed topped the Irish albums chart in August 2012 and entered the U.K. Top 10; its six tracks highlighted his clear, soul-influenced voice and his aptitude for crafting slow, moody ballads built around acoustic guitar that recalled the style of Ronan Keating.