Róisín O has unveiled her rousing new pop single 'Better Now', after announcing her signing to US label Blix Street Records.

A musical autobiography charting the last few years of her life and dealing with loss, heartache, breakups, letting go, growth and ultimately finding hope, upcoming album Courageous (out April 29th) chronicles never heard before chapters of the life of one of Ireland’s most distinctive voices.

With a rich heritage in the Irish music scene, this album is Róisín’s return to solo artist territory after immersing herself in other collaborations and projects since her debut as a 24-year-old, performing as part of band Thanks Brother and achieving a No. 1 single ‘Dreams’ with Irish Women in Harmony. As she makes her mark as a performer in her own right with this second album, Róisín has also recently signed to Blix Street Records in the US.

Following the success of her 2021 singles ‘Heart + Bones’, ‘Still Gold’, her top 20 hit ‘2023’ and her most recent offering co-written with international hitmaker singer-songwriter Gavin James ‘Stolen’ - which soared straight to the top spot at No. 1 on iTunes - the album title track ‘Courageous’ was produced by Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas and James Butler.

According to Róisín, the single “relates to the circumstances of the album’s creation as a whole. Deciding to return to my solo career was a huge step for me and took courage I didn’t know I had.”

“This album has been about eight years in the making," Róisín O explains. "Since my debut album I’ve made a lot of different career moves but in 2021 I finally come back to my solo career as Róisín O. After writing the first single Heart + Bones in 2020, the songs just poured out of me and the time finally felt right to release my second album. Releasing an album has always been a daunting thought since my debut, something I kept putting at arm's length.

The pandemic affected so many people in different ways and for me, it really gave me the time to take stock and reassess why I was doing this in the first place. I do this because I love performing, I love writing songs and seeing people connect with them or move them in some way.

“‘Courageous’ is the last song I wrote for the album. When it came to picking a title for the album this track stood out instantly; every song on this album has an underlying theme of courage and it has taken me a huge amount of courage to finally get to this point in my career. I took the long road but with some courage, I’m so proud to be releasing my sophomore album Courageous.”

After performing in Dubai for St Patrick’s Day with the toast of Irish music talent, Róisín is back on the road at home in Ireland for the Courageous tour. Tickets are on sale now from all usual outlets.

Róisín’s Dublin show in Opium costs €21.50 excluding booking fee and €20 excluding booking fee in all other venues.

Listen to 'Better Now' below.

Dates for Róisín O – The Irish Tour

April
Thursday 14th - Mike the Pies, Listowel – SOLD OUT
Friday 22nd - The Pav, Cork
Saturday 23rd - INEC Acoustic Room, Killarney
Friday 29th – Dolans, Limerick
Saturday 30th – Opium, Dublin

May 2022:
Friday 6th – Monroe’s, Galway
Friday 20th - Kavanagh’s, Laois
Saturday 21st - Sean Og’s, Donegal

Read our brand new interview with Róisín O in the new issue of Hot Press.