Q&A: Ronan Keating

Nokia Ireland

The prolific solo artist and ex-Boyzone frontman on his current favourite playlist, bands to catch live, and an Internet service that's 'perfect'...

With album sales topping 17million, Ronan - a Dubliner born and bred - has enjoyed a decade singing at the top of the pop charts. Away from Boyzone, he's scored 12 Top Ten singles and released three chart-topping albums.

Away from the mike he has co-managed Westlife, presented the Eurovision Song Contest and MTV Music Awards. One of his most recent projects is the launch of his own fragrance range - with profits going to the breast cancer awareness organisation, the Marie Keating Foundation.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am just finishing my new studio album which will be released at the end of May.

Describe your typical day.

Up at 7am. Off to the airport to fly to London. Travel to the city centre. .Some radio interviews, then photo shoots and an appearance on a late TV show. Then on to the next city, somewhere in Europe.

Do you think music still has the same influence?

Yes. Music is our best way to communicate across cultures and generations.

Most memorable tracks from your childhood, and as an adult?

Probably Father and Son by Cat Stevens as a child. There are too many as an adult.

Is your life becoming easier or more complicated?

It's now easier to keep in contact, always being contactable at the end of a phone. But, on the other hand, you can never get away from it either - especially now that you can even use email on aircraft.

So how would you define mobility?

Being free to move without restrictions - being independent.

How has increased mobility affected your life, both professionally and socially?

It has helped me travel and still feel close to my family at all times, from using Web cameras to mobile phones.

What aspects of mobility would you enhance to make your life even easier?

I am quite practical about phones. I like a phone to be a phone, a camera to be a camera and so on. Sometimes when a phone has everything, the initial idea gets lost.

In your view how is increased mobility affecting music?

As we all know, the internet is not a true friend of the music industry yet, but technology is slowly changing that. Soon it will work right for all involved.

What media are you tuning in to at the moment?

Stuff Magazine is great, and iTunes is perfect.

What's on your current playlist?

Train, Drops of Jupiter
Van Morrison, Into the Mystic
New Radicals, You’ve Got the Music in You
Coldplay, Fix You
Clifford T Ward, Home Thoughts from Abroad
Gavin De Graw, Chariot
Del Amitri, Driving with the Brakes On
The Golden Horde, True Friends in Time
Sheryl Crowe, Always on Your Aide
Kanye West, Jesus Walks

Which live acts should we be looking out for?

Gavin De Graw and Train are my favourites.