Lyra (singer)

Last updated

Lyra
Birth nameLaura McNamara
Born Bandon, County Cork
Genres Electropop
Years active2016–present

Laura McNamara, known professionally as Lyra, is an Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Contents

Early life and musical development

Lyra grew up in County Cork, Ireland. In an interview with the Irish Independent , she told of her early love of singing and performing. [1] She has also said that her experiences singing in her church choir, and in speech and drama lessons were formational in the development of her singing. [2] She has highlighted her love of Irish "luminaries" Enya and Sinéad O'Connor, [3] artists whom critics, among others such as Kate Bush and Florence and the Machine, have subsequently likened her music to. [4] Although she wishes to maintain a degree of mystery, [5] she has confirmed that 'Lyra' is one of her given names. [1]

Career

Lyra released her first EP W.I.L.D on 15 July 2016, but gained most of her recognition following the featuring of "Emerald" on the second episode of the RTÉ drama Striking Out , and the subsequent featuring of her music. The same year, "Emerald" was also used in Teen Wolf , The X Factor and The Only Way Is Essex , and helped to gain her exposure. [6]

She appeared on the 30th anniversary rework of U2's The Joshua Tree alongside other Irish artists Imelda May, Gavin James and Kodaline. [7]

In 2017, Lyra signed a label deal with Polydor Records and Universal Music. [8]

She has appeared at such festivals as the Great Escape, Music Cork, Latitude, and Electric Picnic. [6]

Lyra has appeared as a guest performer on Dancing with the Stars [9] and Ireland's Got Talent . [10] Her song "Falling" was featured in the midseason finale of Season 16 of Grey's Anatomy , and on ITV's Love Island .[ citation needed ]

In 2020, her song New Day (a cover of an old Jackie Lomax song) was released as a single, after it was used in various TV-commercials in the UK (Sky Sports) and the Netherlands (bicycle manufacturer VanMoof). [11]

In 2021, Lyra was announced as one of the judges on the Virgin Media One talent show, The Big Deal , joining Boy George, Aston Merrygold, Deirdre O'Kane and Jedward on the panel. [12]

Her single "29 Box" was released on 7 October 2022 and was played on LM/FM on 3 October 2022. She followed this with the single "You" on 10 March 2023.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details and peak chart positions
TitleDetailsPeak chart positions
IRE
[13]
Lyra1

Singles

Year Title Album
2016 "Rabbit in the Headlights" W.I.L.D
"Emerald"
"Broken Down"
"Whitelady"
2019 "Falling" Non-album singles
2019 "Never Let Go"
"Mother"
2020 "New Day"
2020 "The Magic of Christmas" The Magic of Christmas
"Stay Another Day"
"Walking in the Air"
"Merry Christmas Everyone - Live"
2022 "29 Box" Non-album single
2023 "You" Lyra

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Mumba</span> Irish singer-songwriter (born 1983)

Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba is an Irish R&B singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single "Gotta Tell You", which reached the top five in Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. It has since been listed in Billboard's 100 Greatest Choruses of the 21st Century. Her album of the same name was released later that year and reached number four in Ireland and number nine in the UK. She has had seven top five hits in Ireland and six top ten hits in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miriam O'Callaghan</span> Irish broadcast journalist

Miriam O'Callaghan is an Irish television current affairs presenter with RTÉ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deirdre Clune</span> Irish politician (born 1959)

Deirdre Clune is an Irish politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency from 2014 to 2019, and again from 2020 to 2024. She is a member of Fine Gael, part of the European People's Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live at the Marquee (festival)</span>

Live at the Marquee is a season of music concerts and other live performance events organised by Aiken Promotions in a large marquee in Cork, Ireland, every summer since 2005. A concert is held most evenings with the festival usually running from the end of May to late June/early July; tickets for each night are sold separately, with varying lineups and pricing. Acts have represented many genres of popular music, including rock, folk, electronic, hip hop, rhythm and blues, and country; as well as stand-up comedy acts.

Deirdre O'Kane is an Irish stand-up comedian and actress.

Leanne Moore is the winner of the 2008 series of You're a Star on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).

Margaret Barry (1917–1989) was an Irish Traveller, traditional singer and banjo player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Merrygold</span> English media personality

Aston Iain Merrygold is a British singer, songwriter, actor, dancer and television presenter. He is known for being a member of the British boy band JLS, who were the runners-up to Alexandra Burke in the fifth series of The X Factor. As part of the group he achieved five number one singles on the UK Singles Chart and a number one album on the UK Albums Chart. As of December 2013, JLS had sold over 10 million records before disbanding in 2013 and reuniting in 2020. In 2013, he became a judge on the British dance talent show Got to Dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jedward</span> Irish musical duo

John and Edward Grimes, collectively known as Jedward, are an Irish singing and television presenting duo. They are identical twins who first appeared as John & Edward in the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009, generating a phenomenon of ironic popularity described as "the Jedward paradox". They were the seventh contestant eliminated and were managed by Louis Walsh, who was their mentor during The X Factor.

Rena Buckley is an Irish sportswoman who played at senior level for both the Cork county ladies' football team and the Cork county camogie team. She has also represented Munster in the Gael Linn Cup and Ireland at international rules. Between 2005 and 2017 she won 18 All-Ireland winners medals - the most All-Ireland senior medals any one person has ever won - making her one of the most decorated sportspeople in Gaelic games. In 2012 she captained Cork when they won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and in 2017 she captained Cork when they won the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. She was the first player to captain Cork to both All-Ireland senior championships. She was also named as an All Star on eleven occasions. In 2015 Buckley and her team mate and fellow dual player, Briege Corkery, were named joint winners of the 2015 The Irish Times/ Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year Award.

This article lists various songs, albums, festivals, and performances of the year 2014 in Irish music.

Deirdre Duke is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Duke has also won Irish Senior Cup and Women's Irish Hockey League titles with UCD. She has also captained the UCD team. Duke also won an All-Ireland Under-14 Ladies' Football Championship with Dublin and represented the Republic of Ireland women's national under-17 football team.

John Nolan is an Irish dancer and choreographer. He is an Irish national ballroom and showdance champion. Nolan is known for being a dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars.

Ronan Kealy, known as Junior Brother, is an Irish alternative folk singer-songwriter from County Kerry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erica-Cody</span> Irish R&B singer-songwriter

Erica-Cody Kennedy Smith is an Irish R&B singer and songwriter.

Miriam O'Regan is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the High Court since January 2016.

RTÉ Does Comic Relief was an Irish telethon event that took place on 26 June 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) hosted the four-hour telethon "RTÉ does Telethon" in aid of the Community Foundation for Ireland, a trust with a target of distributing funds to over 4,000 non-profit organisations at a national, regional, and local level throughout Ireland.

The Big Deal is an Irish reality talent competition programme which aired from 4 September to 10 October 2021 on Virgin Media One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan O'Neill (singer)</span> Musical artist

Susan O'Neill, also known professionally as SON, is an Irish singer-songwriter and filmmaker, from Ennis, County Clare. She is known for In the Game, an album she made with Mick Flannery.

References

  1. 1 2 "Beyonce with a Cork accent... Could Lyra be Cork's next musical superstar?". Independent.ie . Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Murphy, Lauren (6 December 2019). "Is she Ireland's next big pop star?". Red Bull. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ↑ McGoran, Peter. "HOT FOR 2017: We meet rising Cork artist Lyra". Hotpress. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "Cork Independent – Lyra shines bright". CorkIndependent.ie . Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "Lyra is excited about her return to Cork". www.irishexaminer.com. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  6. 1 2 Gallagher, Katie (5 May 2019). "Singer Lyra says her career blew up after appearing on RTE's Striking Out". irishmirror. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. ↑ "Who is Lyra? 5 Things you Need to Know - Universal Music Ireland". Umusic Ireland. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  8. ↑ ""lyra" AND "polydor" - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  9. ↑ "Lyra is excited about her return to Cork". www.irishexaminer.com. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. ↑ Time to ride the future, VanMoof, retrieved 3 October 2021
  12. ↑ "Boy George, Jedward, Aston Merrygold, Deirdre O'Kane and Lyra join new entertainment show The Big Deal". Hotpress. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.