Brian Nicholas McFadden,born 12 April 1980 is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the Irish boyband Westlife. He is now a judge on Australia's Got Talent. Use
Following his departure from Westlife, McFadden released his debut solo album, Irish Son which peaked within the top 5 on both the Danish and Irish Albums Charts, and produced his first two No. 1 solo singles "Real to Me" in four European countries and also "Almost Here", a duet with his now ex-fiancée Delta Goodrem which gained a platinum accreditation in Australia. "Like Only a Woman Can", the lead single from his second album, Set in Stone (2008), became his third No. 1 single as a solo artist. In 2010, McFadden scored his fourth No. 1 with the hit single, "Just Say So" featuring American rapper, Kevin Rudolf and gained his second Australian platinum accreditation. The single received a nomination at the 2010 ARIA Music Awards for Most Popular Australian Single.
On 25 February 2011, McFadden released a new single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)". The song has been criticised as a glorification of date rape. McFadden's cancelled the shooting of a proposal pop video for the song; McFadden 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 ARIA Singles Chart at number sixty-one on 8 March 2011, and peaked at number forty-nine the next week. On Australia's Got Talent's fifth series' second episode, aired on 4 May 2011, McFadden agreed that he'd let a contestant (The Bandit) record a song on his new album.
In June 2011, McFadden appeared on Australian radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show to launch both of his brand 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 like Dancing With the Stars the new singles have failed to impact the charts at all, which is surprising considering his high profile appearances on Australia's Got Talent. Some of this has been attributed to the negative press surrounding his previous single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)" and its glorification of rape. This, as well as his much-publicized split with Delta Goodrem, appear to have had a negative impact on his music career. There is speculation that the release of his fourth album may be put on hold.
McFadden released his new single "Wrap My Arms" on 20 January 2012 in Australia.The track reached No. 12 on the ARIA Top 20 chart and was used in the Australian soap Home and Away.
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. In 2010, he became one of the new judges on Australia's Got Talent alongside Kyle Sandilands and Dannii Minogue.
In August 2008, GayNZ.com drew attention to a number of disparaging remarks about gays and lesbians McFadden made while he co-hosted the breakfast show on More FM in Auckland, New Zealand stating, "Saying pink is a form of red is the same as saying homosexual is a form of male. In the old days there was no such thing as gay. It was frowned upon. The church would burn you at the stake. Modern day, if you are not gay, a man should not be wearing pink. Unless of course you're in the Americas Cup and you're one of these pansies who walk around with Gant t-shirts with your collars up, and you wear pink and you wear white trousers with those dirty brown slip-on shoes. Then you're just an idiot. McFadden's comments made headlines in news reports, gossip websites and weblogs worldwide, provoking considerable condemnation from the LGBT community. He later denied he was homophobic, saying through his publicist that his comments had been "taken out of context". In late 2008, McFadden teamed up with singer Ricki-Lee Coulter and former Big Brother host Mike Goldman 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 Kyle Sandilands for a short period of time.
During 1998 and 1999, Brian dated Aqua singer Lene Nystrøm Rasted. After the split, he briefly dated S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt. McFadden married former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona on 5 January 2002 in Rathfoe, County Dublin. They have two daughters: Molly Marie McFadden (born 31 August 2001) and Lilly-Sue McFadden (born 3 February 2003).
Katona and McFadden announced their separation in September 2004 and their divorce was finalised in December 2006. In 2004, McFadden began dating Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". On 29 November 2007, McFadden announced his engagement to Goodrem. On 1 April 2011, their engagement was called off. Since May 2011, he has been together with Irish DJ and reality star Vogue Williams and their engagement was announced on 12 January 2012.
Following his departure from Westlife, McFadden released his debut solo album, Irish Son which peaked within the top 5 on both the Danish and Irish Albums Charts, and produced his first two No. 1 solo singles "Real to Me" in four European countries and also "Almost Here", a duet with his now ex-fiancée Delta Goodrem which gained a platinum accreditation in Australia. "Like Only a Woman Can", the lead single from his second album, Set in Stone (2008), became his third No. 1 single as a solo artist. In 2010, McFadden scored his fourth No. 1 with the hit single, "Just Say So" featuring American rapper, Kevin Rudolf and gained his second Australian platinum accreditation. The single received a nomination at the 2010 ARIA Music Awards for Most Popular Australian Single.
On 25 February 2011, McFadden released a new single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)". The song has been criticised as a glorification of date rape. McFadden's cancelled the shooting of a proposal pop video for the song; McFadden 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 ARIA Singles Chart at number sixty-one on 8 March 2011, and peaked at number forty-nine the next week. On Australia's Got Talent's fifth series' second episode, aired on 4 May 2011, McFadden agreed that he'd let a contestant (The Bandit) record a song on his new album.
In June 2011, McFadden appeared on Australian radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show to launch both of his brand 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 like Dancing With the Stars the new singles have failed to impact the charts at all, which is surprising considering his high profile appearances on Australia's Got Talent. Some of this has been attributed to the negative press surrounding his previous single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)" and its glorification of rape. This, as well as his much-publicized split with Delta Goodrem, appear to have had a negative impact on his music career. There is speculation that the release of his fourth album may be put on hold.
McFadden released his new single "Wrap My Arms" on 20 January 2012 in Australia.The track reached No. 12 on the ARIA Top 20 chart and was used in the Australian soap Home and Away.
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. In 2010, he became one of the new judges on Australia's Got Talent alongside Kyle Sandilands and Dannii Minogue.
In August 2008, GayNZ.com drew attention to a number of disparaging remarks about gays and lesbians McFadden made while he co-hosted the breakfast show on More FM in Auckland, New Zealand stating, "Saying pink is a form of red is the same as saying homosexual is a form of male. In the old days there was no such thing as gay. It was frowned upon. The church would burn you at the stake. Modern day, if you are not gay, a man should not be wearing pink. Unless of course you're in the Americas Cup and you're one of these pansies who walk around with Gant t-shirts with your collars up, and you wear pink and you wear white trousers with those dirty brown slip-on shoes. Then you're just an idiot. McFadden's comments made headlines in news reports, gossip websites and weblogs worldwide, provoking considerable condemnation from the LGBT community. He later denied he was homophobic, saying through his publicist that his comments had been "taken out of context". In late 2008, McFadden teamed up with singer Ricki-Lee Coulter and former Big Brother host Mike Goldman 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 Kyle Sandilands for a short period of time.
During 1998 and 1999, Brian dated Aqua singer Lene Nystrøm Rasted. After the split, he briefly dated S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt. McFadden married former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona on 5 January 2002 in Rathfoe, County Dublin. They have two daughters: Molly Marie McFadden (born 31 August 2001) and Lilly-Sue McFadden (born 3 February 2003).
Katona and McFadden announced their separation in September 2004 and their divorce was finalised in December 2006. In 2004, McFadden began dating Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". On 29 November 2007, McFadden announced his engagement to Goodrem. On 1 April 2011, their engagement was called off. Since May 2011, he has been together with Irish DJ and reality star Vogue Williams and their engagement was announced on 12 January 2012.
