Bonnie Ryan has spoken about her late father Gerry Ryan, saying he was the "biggest fan" of her former girl band Lady Nada.
Bonnie opened up about her time in the girl group, saying: "He came to nearly every single one of our shows, he was our biggest fan and we were very teeny bop pop type thing so that was interesting."
Aged just 13 Bonnie went on tour with Westlife for the first time, while she was still doing her Junior Cert, an experience which cemented her desire to break into the music industry.
"That was really amazing", she said. "One time we did 20 nights in a row in the Point, so we'd go to school during the day, bring our homework to The Point, do our homework in the dressing room, go out and perform in front of 10,000 people and then go into school the next day. It was bizarre!"
Appearing on The Ray D'Arcy Show, the 23-year-old singer unveiled her debut single I'm Out to the world, putting in an energetic performance with two backing singers.
Your new Saturday night anthem? @Bonnieryan1 bringing the sass with her debut single I'm Out. #raydarcyhttps://t.co/LXbnklltd0
— RTÉ TEN (@RTE_TEN) April 23, 2016
She co-wrote the song with Irish songwriter Don Mescall, who "really gets the music" that she's trying to make, and said it's "so weird" that it's out there for everyone to listen to.
The singer added that it's not surprising that she's pursing a career in showbiz given her upbringing, telling Ray: "I grew up in a family full of people who are singers, dancers, acting, radio, all this stuff so I don't think it's too surprising that it rubbed off on me or I gravitated towards it."
. @Bonnieryan1 tells Ray if she went into showbiz because of her dad, and says Gerry was her biggest fan. #raydarcyhttps://t.co/UwixxFI1ua
— RTÉ TEN (@RTE_TEN) April 23, 2016
Check out the video for Bonnie's debut single I'm Out below.
