For most Music Man readers Ronan Keating needs no introduction, so I’ll keep it brief. From 1993, Keating was co-lead singer of the Irish boy-band sensation Boyzone. In 1999, Keating went solo. His solo career took off when his single When You Say Nothing At All shot up song charts around the world after it featured in the movie Notting Hill (1999). As a solo artist, Keating has shifted almost as many units as Boyzone. In Australia, Germany, and the UK he is also known as a talent show host.
Our first video is from Keating’s tour in support of his tenth solo album, Time of My Life (2016). The song is You Think I Don’t Remember, a track Keating co-wrote with Peter-John Vettese and Dan Healy. You Think I Don’t Remember, an ode to Keating’s Irish childhood and a reflection on the continued meaning of that time to him, is one of the more personal tracks on the LP. In this live performance from Dublin, September 2016, he is joined by his delightful 11-year-old daughter Ali.
Ali knows all the words and the way she sings and enunciates is a joy. Silhouette comments that the performance moves her to tears, “The little girl was so nervous at the start,” she says, “but her father held her by the hand and steadied her…God’s blessings always upon you and yours Ronan!” Liliana Bartosi writes: “Look at him, how proud he is! Amazing voice!” Raddy Reyes says: “Ronan’s constant hugs made his daughter confident as they sing. What a loving and caring father.”
There are other videos, from different shows on the tour, where Ali joins her father for the song. You can see Ali growing in confidence. My favourite of the other YouTube videos of the song featuring Ali is from before the tour. On 3 June 2016, Keating released a stripped-down “kitchen session” version, backed by co-writer Dan Healy, guitarist Greg Bone, and backing vocalist Jo Garland. Fittingly for such a personal song, Keating is joined by his father, Gerry Keating, and his daughter Ali.
Born in 2005, Ali is the youngest child (of three) from Keating’s first marriage, which formally ended in 2015 after five years of separation. Keating has two children from his second marriage (born 2017 and 2020). In May 2018, Ali had a serious accident requiring hours of surgery when she fell from her pony. Her Mother, Yvonne Connolly, posted “After a cruel turn of events, Ali ended up in hospital on Tuesday after a fall from her new pony, Red. Just home today. She’s now out of the saddle for 8-10 weeks and missing lots of competitions we had coming up.”.
Ali recovered and got back on the saddle. In 2023, Ali qualified for the prestigious Longines Dublin Horse Show. Speaking of her showjumping to VIP, Ali said, “I love my family and I’m so grateful for everything that I’ve been brought up with and all the amazing people I’m surrounded by. But, the horses are something I’m going to try to do on my own. There’s a lot of negativity with people saying, ‘Oh, you’re only this because of so and so’, but I want to stand on my own two feet and know that I put in the hard work and had the determination.” You go, girl!