Music mogul Louis Walsh has reignited his long-running feud with Ronan Keating, labelling his former client a “karaoke artist” whose pop career is “over”, and he insisted Ronan will “never have another hit”.
Louis Walsh has reignited his feud with Ronan Keating, insisting the singer’s career is “over” and he will “never have another hit”.
The music mogul, 74, created Boyzone – the band that helped to launch Ronan’s career – in 1993, and Louis went on to manage Ronan’s solo career until he was fired in 2009 due to creative and career differences.
Louis hasn’t held back with his brutal opinions about Ronan since, and he has now blasted him as a “karaoke artist”.
Speaking on Irish documentary and current affairs series The Big Interview, he said: “Ronan started believing his own publicity then.
“He said to me one day in the Four Seasons, ‘I don’t want to be a karaoke artist anymore.’ But that’s what he is!
“I was picking all the songs – he hasn’t had a hit since. He hasn’t!
“He’s singing all the old songs now, he doesn’t have a record deal.
“He was great to work with at the start, but then he believed it.
“It’s over – he’s never going to be a pop star now.
“He’s never going to have another hit. I’m happy.”
Louis also slammed Boyzone – who were also made up of Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham, and Stephen Gately, who died in 2009 aged 33 – as “puppets for Westlife”.
He added: “I did all the work on Boyzone, everybody knows that.
“They were the puppets for Westlife, and I picked all the songs.”
Louis claimed Ronan used to “chase” late, great pop icon George Michael “in London” because he wanted to be like the Wham! star.
The music manager added: “He wanted to be George Michael … he was chasing around George Michael in London.
“What he didn’t know is that George Michael fancied Stephen [Gately], and George Michael was only being friendly with him to get to know Stephen. That’s the real story.”
Despite his comments, Louis insists he is “over it” when it comes to Ronan.
He added: “We had great times together, we had great fun, but it was a bad divorce, and it’s fine – I’m over it.
“I’d say he’s happy enough in his life, because he’s always gonna be working.
“He’ll either be a DJ, or he’ll act, or he’ll dance. He can do anything.”
In 2025, Ronan said Boyzone were “five young lads thrown to the wolves” in their early career.
He told The Guardian: “We were five young lads, thrown to the wolves.
“To cope with the pressures of fame, we ran on bravado and bottled everything up.
“Thirty years on, it seemed important to take an honest look at what happened.
“There were times it was uncomfortable – painful, actually – to hear what the other lads had to say.”
Louis Walsh reignites Ronan Keating feud: ‘He’s never going to have another hit!’
