Ronan Keating

Ronan Keating: On Top of the World

　　Ronan Keating is feeling pretty lucky. At the age of 27, the Irish hearthrob (1) has been a international star for over 10 years—first as a member of the hugely successful Irish boy band, Boyzone, and more recently, as a solo act.

　　Just how successful is Ronan Keating? Let’s just say the boy has already sold over 17 million albums around the world! Not bad for a working-class kid from Ireland.

　　To celebrate Ronan’s musical achievements, his new album, “Ronan Keating—10 Years of Hits,” which landed in China last month, features the 12 most popular songs of his solo career.

　　How did Ronan’s rollercoaster (2) ride of success begin? Flash back (3) to Dublin, 1993. At his part-time job at a shoe store, 14-year-old Ronan Keating noticed an advertisement for young male singers to form a boy band. Ronan left work early to audition (4). It was lucky he did—he beat out (5) 300 other young boys to join Boyzone, a group which would become one of the biggest pop acts ever.

　　Reaching success, however, was not easy. But this Irish youth was no stranger to (6) hard work—one of four children, his struggling father and mother instilled (7) a strong work ethic (8) in their youngest son.

　　Ronan’s dedication paid off. In November of the following year, Ronan tasted stardom for the first time with Boyzone’s number one single “Love Me for a Reason.” Over the next five years, Boyzone produced an incredible 16 top five singles, six of which hit the number one spot.

　　But even Boyzone couldn’t contain Ronan’s talents. In 1999, he stepped out of his own with “When You Say Nothing At All,” a single that confirmed Ronan was more than just a pretty face. The song, included on the “Notting Hill” movie soundtrack, hit number one on the UK charts.

　　That memorable song is the first track on the “10 Years of Hits” CD. The CD also includes Ronan’s 2002 number one single, “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” the beautiful 2003 love ballad, “The Long Goodbye,” as well as an all-new offering “I Hope You Dance.”

　　“10 Years of Hits” is a heart-soaring celebration of Ronan’s three successful solo albums and 10 years at the top.

　　But, remember, the past 10 years have not just been filled with musical milestones (9) for Ronan—amid the concerts, CDs, and videos he still found time to star in a feature film, raise money for cancer charities, as well as get married and raise two children!

　　And don’t think “10 Years of Hits” means Ronan is resting on his laurels (10): he took the album on the road in December on a UK Arena tour—his fourth in four years—and is working on a whole new album. Ronan is ready for another 10 years of success!

　　WORD KEY

　　1 hearthrob noun被热爱的人

　　2 rollercoaster noun云霄飞车

　　3 flash back verb回顾，回溯

　　4 audition noun试听，试演

　　5 beat out verb phrase压倒，胜过

　　6 was not stranger to (something) informal phrase对于某事物很熟悉

　　7 instilled (to instil) verb 灌输，教导

　　8 work ethic noun 职业道德

　　9 milestone noun 重大阶段或事件

　　10 resting (to rest) on his laurels informal verb phrase满足于既有的成绩而不思进取