Louis Walsh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Louis Walsh
Walsh in 2009
Born	Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (1952-08-05) 5 August 1952 (age 72) Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Ireland
Occupation	Music manager television personality
Years active	1969–present

Louis Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is a famous Irish music manager and TV star. He is well-known for helping many successful pop groups from Ireland become famous. These include Boyzone, Westlife, and Jedward.

Louis Walsh has also been a judge on popular TV talent shows. You might know him from The X Factor in the UK. He also appeared on Popstars and Ireland's Got Talent. In 2024, he was a contestant on the TV show Celebrity Big Brother.

Early Life and Beginnings

Louis Walsh was born Michael Louis Vincent Walsh in Kiltimagh, Ireland, on 5 August 1952. He grew up in a big family, being the second of eight children.

Music Management Career

Westlife, a super successful band created by Louis Walsh.

Louis Walsh moved to Dublin to start his career in the music world in the 1990s. He wanted to create an Irish version of the popular band Take That. He held auditions, and this led to the creation of Boyzone. He managed Boyzone to huge international success. They had 16 top three songs and six number one hits. They also sold over 20 million albums worldwide.

Later, one of Boyzone's members, Ronan Keating, decided to take a break from the band. Louis Walsh continued to manage Ronan's solo career. Ronan had number one hits like "When You Say Nothing At All". Eventually, Ronan and Louis decided to go their separate ways.

Walsh then formed another successful boy band called Westlife. Ronan Keating even helped manage Westlife for their first few number one songs. Westlife became incredibly popular, selling over 50 million records around the world. They had 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom.

In December 2012, Louis Walsh also became the manager for the band Union J. He has a great track record for finding and developing musical talent!

Television Career Highlights

Louis Walsh first appeared on TV in 2001 as a judge on the Irish version of Popstars. The next year, he was a judge on the UK show Popstars: The Rivals. On this show, his girl group Girls Aloud competed against another boy band. Girls Aloud's first song, "Sound of the Underground", became a number one hit in the UK. Louis managed them to sell over a million singles.

He has also appeared on many talent shows on RTÉ, which is Ireland's national broadcaster. He even filled in for Simon Cowell as a judge on Britain's Got Talent a couple of times.

Judging on The X Factor

Louis Walsh is most famous for being a judge on the ITV talent show The X Factor. He started in 2004 alongside Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne.

In 2005, Louis managed the winner of The X Factor, Shayne Ward. Shayne's first song, "That's My Goal", was number one in the UK for four weeks.

Louis was a judge on The X Factor for many years. He mentored different categories of singers, like the "Over 25s" or the "Groups". He helped many acts reach the live shows and become successful. For example, he mentored JLS in 2008, who finished as runners-up. In 2009, he mentored John & Edward, who became very popular even though they didn't win.

In 2013, for the show's tenth series, Louis mentored the "Boys" category. Two of his acts, Nicholas McDonald and Luke Friend, made it to the final!

Louis took a break from the show in 2015 but returned in 2016 and 2017. In 2019, he came back for a special version of the show called The X Factor: Celebrity. He mentored the winner, Megan McKenna, which was his third win on the show!

Ireland's Got Talent

In 2015, it was announced that Louis Walsh would be a judge on a new Irish talent show. This show was called Ireland's Got Talent. It started in 2018, and Louis was the head judge. He was joined by other judges like Michelle Visage. The show ran for two series.

Junk Kouture

Louis Walsh judging at Junk Kouture.

Since 2014, Louis Walsh has also been a judge on Junk Kouture. This is a cool show about sustainable fashion, where young designers create outfits from recycled materials.

Other TV Appearances

Louis Walsh has appeared on several other TV shows. In 2011, he raced a car on Top Gear. He also appeared on Who's Doing the Dishes? and Drive. In March 2024, he was a housemate on Celebrity Big Brother, where he reached the final and finished in fourth place.

Groups and Performers Managed by Louis Walsh

Awards and Honours

• 2009 Mayo Person of the Year
• 2015 The Irish Post - Outstanding Contribution to Entertainment Award

See also

In Spanish: Louis Walsh para niños