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Ronan Parke

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Ronan Parke
Birth nameRonan David Parke
Born (1998-08-08) August 8, 1998 (age 25)
OriginPoringland, Norfolk, England
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2011-present
LabelsSony BMG/SyCo

Ronan David Parke (born 8 August 1998) is an English singer from Poringland, Norfolk, England who came runner-up in the fifth series of ITV show Britain's Got Talent, despite being the bookies favorite to win. After the show, it was reported that Parke had signed a joint record deal with Sony Music.[1] He will release his debut album Ronan Parke on 24 October 2011.[2]

Early and personal life

Parke was born to Maggie and Trevor Parke in Poringland, a village in Norfolk in England. He has an older brother Declan, aged 15. His family are close to the family of Norwich City player Bryan Gunn, whose daughter helped Parke put in his application form for Britain's Got Talent.[3] Parke had been taking singing lessons in his home town before getting the confidence to apply for the show.[3]

Parke currently attends Framingham Earl High School.[3]

Career

2011: Britain's Got Talent

Parke auditioned for Britain's Got Talent in London in front of judges Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre and Louis Walsh (who was filling in for David Hasselhoff.) He performed "Feeling Good" and before the song finished, the entire 2500-strong audience and three judges gave Parke a standing ovation. He received rave reviews after his performance and received three "yes" votes and was through to the next round, with Walsh declaring that Parke "is the one to beat". Following the airing of his audition on the third auditions show on 30 April 2011, Parke quickly became the bookies favorite to win the show. Parke was then shown being put through to the semi-finals a few weeks later.

Parke performed for a second time during the semi-final on 30 May 2011, performing "Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan. After his performance, he received praise from all four judges David Hasselhoff (who was not present at Parke's audition), McIntyre, Holden and Simon Cowell, who was only judging the live finals. Parke received the highest public vote of the night and was automatically sent through to the final.[4]

In the final on 4 June, Parke performed "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson and received a standing ovation from the audience and judges, and the judges once again gave him praise for his powerful rendition of the song. Walsh, who was in the audience for the final, was referred to by Cowell and also praised Parke saying “He’s made the hairs stand on the back of my neck.”. However, Parke lost to eventual winner Jai McDowall by a margin of 2.6% of the vote.[5]

Controversy

There was an allegation that Simon Cowell had been "grooming" Parke for two years before he auditioned on the show, but Cowell and Parke both denied having had any prior contact. Cowell said on the semi-final edition, aired 3 June 2011: "There have been allegations made ... on the internet, that Ronan Parke has a previous recording contract with my record label, that I'd met him before, both of which are complete and utter lies. The first time I met Ronan was when he appeared on the show, he entered it of his own accord. He is 12 years old, this is a deliberate smear campaign and it is my job as somebody who works on this show to make sure whoever this liar is, is exposed, and Ronan is treated the same way as everyone else and it will be the public who decides." Cowell has called in the police to assist him in locating the source of the story, who claimed to be from within Sony Music UK. The police investigation was later abandoned, with a spokesman for Scotland Yard implying that the allegation may have been a publicity stunt to boost the show's ratings.[6]

In July 2011, the man responsible for the allegation apologized and revealed that he had fabricated his entire claim. He was cautioned by police following the matter, and was asked to apologise to Cowell. The matter was not going to be taken any further.[7]

2011-present: Debut album

Two days after the final, it was reported that Sony Music were keen to offer Parke a recording contract worth £1 million.[1] The same day, it was also reported that Cowell had plans for Parke to duet with Jackie Evancho.[8]

Parke performed in the Britain's Got Talent Live Tour 2011, making appearances all throughout the UK. The tour opened on 12 June 2011 at Newcastle Metro Radio Arena and finished on 26 June at Bournemouth BIC. During the tour, Parke sang all three of the songs that he performed on the show, collaborating with pianist Paul Gbegbaje for "Make You Feel My Love".[9] It was reported that Parke was going to get paid up to £30,000 for three performances on the tour, twice as much as the winner Jai McDowall.[10]

Parke appeared at the Royal Norfolk Show on 30 June to greet fans and sign autographs.[11] Parke also performed at the Hamilton Park Racecourse family night on July 9, filling in for Joe McElderry who was forced to pull out.[12] Parke performed for an audience of over 50,000 at T4 on the Beach on 10 July,[13] singing Cee Lo Green's "Forget You". He was introduced on the stage by David Hasselhoff.[14]

It was reported by The Sun on 7 July 2011 that Parke had finally been signed by Sony Music and another label as a joint contract.[1] It has not yet been confirmed how much money the record deal is worth.[15] Parke's mother has hinted at the fact that his music may be released this year.[15] Major retailers including Amazon have started taking pre-orders for the record with a UK release date of 5 September.[15] According to Parke's official Facebook page, the release date has since been updated to 24 October 2011.[2] On 10 August, the album was revealed to be self-titled, as Ronan Parke.

On 28 July, Parke uploaded a video to YouTube of him performing an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory", which has attracted media attention.[16] His Facebook page states that a new video of Parke singing an acoustic cover will be released every week as part of a three-part series called Ronan Sings. The second video was an acoustic cover of "Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan, which was uploaded on 10 August. Amazon also showed an exclusive video on the pre-order page of Parke's debut album, of him performing an acoustic cover of "Forget You".

He also announced his first gig in his hometown of Norfolk, and will perform at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-Sea on two nights, 22 and 23 October.[17] He will perform at a Michael Jackson tribute show on 28 August at Blackpool Opera House.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
 IRL
2011 Ronan Parke

References

  1. ^ a b c Gordon Smart (7 July 2011). "The dawn of the Ronan empire". The Sun. Retrieved 7 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "record deal" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005AQVHM4?ie=UTF8&tag=epiclagr-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B005AQVHM4
  3. ^ a b c Kim Briscoe (1 May 2011). "Poringland's Ronan Parke impresses judges on Britain's Got Talent". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 5 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "hometown" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Lucy Wright (31 May 2011). "Norfolk's Ronan Parke makes it to the final of Britain's Got Talent". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 5 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Lucy Wright (5 June 2011). "Norfolk's Ronan Parke pipped to the post in Britain's Got Talent final". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 5 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Lara Gould (5 June 2011). "Ronan Parke 'fix' inquiry is dropped by police as it may have been cooked up to boost Britain's Got Talent ratings". Daily Mail. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Colin Robertson (4 July 2011). "Caution for BGT internet pest". The Sun. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "BGT star Ronan Parke and Jackie Evancho: a duet made in heaven". STV. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Simon Boyle (13 June 2011). "Ronan Parke is star of the show as Britain's Got Talent tour launches". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Dan Wootton (12 June 2011). "Ronan's £30k for 3 songs". News of the World. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "Royal Norfolk Show manager vows 'special' two-day event". BBC News. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Sarah Swain (1 July 2011). "Ronan lands racecourse concert spot". Evening Times. Retrieved 7 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Stage set for T4 spectacular". Bristol Evening Post. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Britain's Got Talent News: Ronan Parke struts his stuff at T4 In The Park! (VIDEO)". UnrealityTV. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ a b c David Keller (15 July 2011). "Ronan Parke releasing music 'this year' after Syco deal". BBC Norfolk. Retrieved 17 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Amy Sciarretto (3 August 2011). "BRITISH JUSTIN BIEBER LOOK-ALIKE RONAN PARKE PERFORMS LADY GAGA'S 'THE EDGE OF GLORY'". popcrush.com. Retrieved 6 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Lucy Wright (4 August 2011). "Ronan Parke announces first Norfolk gig". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 6 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

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