Darren Holden (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Darren Holden
Background information
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Polygram Records, Crashed Records, ARK21/Universal Records, EMI Records, EMI Manhattan, Universal, Sony Records, Celtic Collections, Caroline Records
Associated acts	The High Kings, Boyzone, Billy Joel

Darren Richard Holden (born 4 July 1972) is an Irish singer and songwriter. He has performed in famous Broadway shows like Riverdance and Movin' Out. He also toured with these shows across the country. Darren released his first solo music album in Ireland in 1998. Later, he became a member of the popular Irish folk group, the High Kings. He joined Finbarr Clancy and Brian Dunphy in this group.

Early Life and First Steps in Music

Darren Richard Holden was born on 4 July 1972. His hometown is Mooncoin in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

From 1995 to 1997, Darren toured a lot with the famous Dublin group Boyzone. His first solo album, called Suddenly, came out in Ireland at the end of 1998.

Darren's Journey on Stage

Performing in Dance and Music Shows

In 1999, Darren Holden became the main singer for a new Irish dance and music show called Rhythm of the Dance. He spent ten months performing in many countries. These included places like Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, and Yugoslavia.

In February 2000, he joined the Broadway show Riverdance as a special singer. This show ran for 18 months. During this time, he appeared on popular TV shows like NBC's Today Show and CBS' Early Show.

Music in New York and Nashville

While in New York City, Darren worked with country music producer Don DiNicola. They recorded an album of modern and traditional country songs called Live & Learn. The recording happened in New York and also in Nashville, a famous music city. Several US country radio stations played songs from this album. By the end of 2003, three of his songs were very popular on the radio charts. These included "Blood and Smoke" and "Wherever You Are," which was a big hit.

Rodney Crowell, a well-known musician, once compared Darren to another singer, Bryan White. He even invited Darren to Nashville. Darren also helped write a song called "Wendy's World" with Rodney Crowell.

Broadway's Movin' Out and Tours

Darren left Riverdance in June 2003. He then returned to Broadway to play the main piano role in "Movin' Out." This was a rock musical based on the music of Billy Joel and choreographed by Twyla Tharp. He performed this role on Broadway for six months. After that, he became the lead for the US National Tour of the show. This tour ran from January 2004 to January 2007. The show also performed in Toronto and Japan.

On 22 August 2006, Darren released a CD called Roadworks. This album was produced by Bryan Steele and Tommy Byrnes, who worked with Billy Joel. The album was sold in Japan and sold over 30,000 copies after a TV and radio campaign. A song from the album, "5 Star Day," was used in the video game Cars Mater-National Championship the next year. This made "5 Star Day" his most successful solo song digitally.

Darren has performed with many famous singers. These include Paul Young, Belinda Carlisle, and Bonnie Tyler. He has also worked with groups like Boyzone and Backstreet Boys. His singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was so good that he was asked to sing it for President George W. Bush at the White House.

Joining The High Kings

In June 2007, Darren Holden was asked to join the High Kings. This was a new Irish ballad group. The other members were Brian Dunphy, Finbarr Clancy, and Martin Furey.

Their first CD was released in February 2008. It reached number 2 on the Billboard world music charts. It also became number 1 on many Amazon Music charts. In Ireland, it reached number 7 and has sold enough copies to be certified platinum. The group has had three sold-out tours in the US and Ireland.

In March 2009, Darren performed solo with the Kilkenny Gospel Choir. This concert took place at St Mary's Cathedral in Kilkenny. He also appeared in a TV advertisement for Optilase Laser Eye Clinic.

In October 2009, Darren was one of seven Irish celebrities who spent a week in Tanzania. They climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. An RTÉ television show about this event was shown on 18 July 2011.

The High Kings' album Friends for Life came out in 2013. The first song on the album was an original by Darren called "Oh Maggie." This song became the most played and downloaded song from the album in Ireland, the UK, and especially Germany. The album reached number 5 in the Irish Top 40. It also reached number 3 on Billboard's World Albums chart.

On 30 January 2017, the High Kings received a special award. It was for "Outstanding achievement in Irish Music around the world" at the Sunday World Entertainment Awards. Darren was invited to talk about this award on TV3's The 6 O'Clock Show for the fourth time.

Darren also hosted some episodes of the SKY TV Channel 389 series Keep it Country. This show is broadcast in Ireland, the UK, and the US. He interviewed some of his friends in the music industry and other singers and songwriters.

After a sold-out concert in Kansas City, Missouri, in March 2017, a newspaper reporter praised Darren's singing. He said Darren's voice on the song "The Town I Loved so Well" was "nothing short of sensational." People gave standing ovations for Darren's version of this song during the entire US tour. In New York City, the applause lasted over three minutes.

On 28 April 2017, Darren was asked to lead the discussion panel on TV3's daytime show The Elaine Show. He was introduced as "the High Kings leader."

On 24 August 2017, Crashed Records re-released Darren's song "Lady." This marked 20 years since it first came out in 1997. The song was dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was originally a top-20 song. Fans' reaction to Darren's tribute song and video sent it to number 3 on iTunes. This was Darren's first solo song to chart since he joined the High Kings.

On 2 November 2017, Darren appeared on TV3's The 6 O'Clock Show again. This was his sixth time on the show. He talked about the High Kings' new album, Decade: The Best of the High Kings. The album was released on 3 November 2017 and quickly reached number 1 on iTunes.

The band started an Irish tour at the end of March 2018. On 7 June 2018, Darren and The High Kings were nominated for Best Album at the Irish Post Awards. They performed live with Phil Coulter, singing their hit "Hand me down my Bible." Darren also played accordion with him at the end of the show.

Popular Songs on the Charts

Darren Holden has had several songs that appeared on the Irish music charts:

• "Don't Give Up on Us" – Reached #23 in Ireland in 1997
• "More Than I Can Say" – Reached #20 in Ireland in 1997
• "The Rose of Mooncoin" – Reached #28 in Ireland in 1998