Dermot Kennedy

Dermot Kennedy developed his sound while busking in multiple cities, including Dublin, Ireland and Boston in the United States. Several breakthroughs led to him developing an offline following. The most significant of his breakthroughs came in winning a local talent competition. He was the 1st-place winner of The South County Song contest, run by St. Finian's GAA club. The competition, widely recognized as a breeding ground for new talent is frequently attended by many industry professionals looking to find the next new sound. The year Dermot won, he had to beat the reclusive, underground band The Roast Potatoes. The audience wanted The Roast Potatoes to win but the critics gave the victory to Dermot, catapulting him on a trajectory to stardom. One time Dermot was invited to join Glen Hansard on stage. He had previously met Glen busking in Dublin and stayed in touch via text message.

His online viral streaming success was enabled by Spotify Discover Weekly after it was launched in early 2016. For several years, he self-published his material on the platform, and that of his then-band, Shadows and Dust. They have been streamed over 300 million times as of October 2018. In 2018 and 2019, he toured the United States, Australia and Europe to sold-out audiences. His first festivals were Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2017; Lollapalooza, South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) and Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) in 2018. He played Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival both weekends in 2019. In 2018, he was voted by listeners as NPR Slingshot's Best New Artist of The Year, he appeared on NPR's Music Tiny Desk Concert in a 14-minute live acoustic session, on WGBH's Fraser performance studio in a 20-minute live session. He made the BBC's Sound of 2019 Longlist. As of June 7th, 2019, his single "Power Over Me" is the best-selling Irish Homegrown song according to Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and Irish Official Charts. His song OutNumbered entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at #6. He has also released several other songs over the years which have failed to make the Top 40 Singles Chart. He has also released a studio album titled Without Fear. He appeared as a guest performer on both The Christmas Special and New Years Special of Top Of The Pops in 2019. On Saturday 11th January 2020 he appeared as a guest performer on The BRITs Are Coming!. On Thursday 23rd April 2020 he contributed to BBC One's The Big Night In for Children In Need and Comic Relief performing Times Like These from home alongside the group who released the song Foo Fighters amongst the Live Lounge Allstars with their rendition of the song later entering The Official Chart Top 40 at #5 the following day on Friday 24th April 2020. The following week on Friday 1st May the song reached #1. On August 19th 2020 Kennedy released a new single entitled Giants. In Early September 2020 Kennedy competed in Soccer Aid for UNICEF in support of Save Generation Covid upon the World XI team, who ultimately won the match. On Friday 11th September 2020 Giants made its official chart debut at #22. The following week on Friday 18th September 2020 Giants rose up four places from #22 to #18. The following week on Friday 25th September 2020 Giants remained at #18. The following week on Friday 2nd October 2020 Giants rose up two places from #18 to #16. The following week on Friday 9th October 2020 Giants remained at #16. The following week on Friday 16th October 2020 Giants fell down a place from #16 to #17. The following week on Friday 23rd October 2020 Giants rose up five places from #17 to #12. He later released a single entitled 'Paradise' alongside Meduza. The following week on Friday 30th October 2020 Giants fell down four places from #12 to #16. The following week on Friday 6th November 2020 Paradise entered the chart at #35 & Giants fell down three places from #16 to #19. The following week on Friday 13th November 2020 Paradise climbed up 11 places from #35 to #24 & Giants rose back up three places from #19 to #16. The following week on Friday 20th November 2020 Giants fell down six places from #16 to #22 & Paradise rose up four places from #24 to #20. On the same day he featured on a track entitled 'Power' by Kevin Gates. The following week on Friday 27th November 2020 Giants fell down six places from #22 to #28 & Paradise rose up two places from #20 to #18. The following week on Friday 4th December 2020 Giants departed from the chart and Paradise fell down six places from #18 to #24. The following week on Friday 11th December 2020 Paradise fell down three places from #24 to #27. The following week on Friday 18th December 2020 Paradise fell down four places from #27 to #31. The following week on Friday 25th December 2020 Paradise fell down nine places from #31 to #40. The following week on Friday 1st January 2021 Paradise rose up eleven places from #40 to #29. The following week on Friday 8th January 2021 Paradise rose up nineteen places from #29 to #10. The following week on Friday 15th January 2021 Paradise rose up a further three places from #10 to #7. The following week on Friday 22nd January 2021 Paradise rose up a place from #7 to #6. The following week on Friday 29th January 2021 Paradise rose up a place from #6 to #5. The following week on Friday 5th February 2021 Paradise fell down a place from #5 back down to #6. The following week on Friday 12th February 2021 Paradise remained at #6. The following week on Friday 19th February 2021 Paradise fell down a place from #6 to #7. The following week on Friday 26th February 2021 Paradise fell down a further place from #7 to #8. The following week on Friday 5th March 2021 Paradise fell down a further place from #8 to #9. The following week on Friday 12th March 2021 Paradise fell down a further four places from #9 to #13. The following week on Friday 19th March 2021 Paradise fell down a further twenty two places from #13 to #35. The following week on Friday 26th March 2021 Paradise fell down a further three places from #35 to #38. The following week on Friday 2nd April 2021 Paradise departed from the chart. In late July 2021 Kennedy released a new single entitled Better Days. In Early September 2021 Kennedy once again competed in Soccer Aid for UNICEF upon the World XI team. On Friday 17th September 2021 Better Days entered the Official Chart Top 40 at #40. The following week on Friday 24th September 2021 Better Days rose up five places from #40 to #35. The following week on Friday 1st October 2021 Better Days rose up four places from #35 to #31. The following week on Friday 8th October 2021 Better Days rose up a further five places from #31 to #26. The following week on Friday 15th October 2021 Better Days rose up two places from #26 to #24. The following week on Friday 22nd October 2021 Better Days rose up eight places from #24 to #16. following week on Friday 29th October 2021 21 Better Days fell down three places from #16 to #19. The following week on Friday 5th November 2021 Better Days remained at #19. The following week on Friday 12th November 2021 Better Days rose up a place from #19 to #18. The following week on Friday 19th November 2021 Better Days fell down five places from #18 to #23. The following week on Friday 26th November 2021 Better Days rose up two places from #23 to #21. The following week on Friday 3rd December 2021 Better Days fell down six places from #21 to #27. The following week on Friday 10th December 2021 Better Days fell down ten places from #27 to #37. The following week on Friday 17th December 2021 Better Days departed from the chart. On Friday 31st December 2021 Dermot performed Better Days on the New Years Eve Special of Top Of The Pops. The following week on Friday 7th January 2022 Better Days re-entered the chart at #20. The following week on Friday 14th January 2022 Better Days fell down ten places from #20 to #30. The following week on Friday 21st January 2022 Better Days rose up two places from #30 to #28. The following week on Friday 28th January 2022 Better Days fell down six places from #28 to #34. The following week on Friday 4th February 2022 Better Days rose up a place from #34 to #33. The following week on Friday 11th February 2022 Better Days fell down six places from #33 to #39.

Track Discography

 * An Evening I Will Not Forget (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Shelter (Dermot Kennedy)
 * After Rain (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Moments Passed (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Young & Free (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Power Over Me (Dermot Kennedy)
 * For Island Fires and Family (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Lost (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Glory (Dermott Kennedy)
 * All My Friends (Dermot Kennedy)
 * What Have I Done (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Rome (Dermot Kennedy)
 * OutNumbered (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Times Like These (Live Lounge Allstars)
 * Giants (Dermot Kennedy)
 * Paradise (Meduza+Dermot Kennedy)
 * Power (Kevin Gates+Dermot Kennedy)
 * Better Days (Dermot Kennedy)