This week, Ira spoke with Irish tenor Paul Byrom, performing in Myron’s at The Smith Center March 17. In this episode of “Talk About Las Vegas With Ira,” Paul talks about his long career in music; his eighth studio album (By Contrast); adapting to and evolving with changes in the music industry; why he delights in performing on St. Patrick’s Day in America; why he stays physically fit (and enjoys it); calculating “Guinness math”; why his vocal coach wanted him to do opera; how to pronounce “Celtic”: why he loves bantering with his audience; why he always has to sing “Danny Boy” at every show; and his surprising experience at his first Las Vegas performance.
Paul Byrom is considered by many to be one of Ireland’s finest crossover tenors. Starting in the business at a very young age, the Dublin-born singer has been in the music industry for more than 30 years.
After releasing his first album at age 14 (The Golden Voice of Paul Byrom), Paul got a taste for recording studios and soon became a recording artist. Subsequently, he recorded his first major album as a tenor (VELVET), in 2005 and swiftly followed this with his first Christmas album (I’ll Be Home for Christmas) in 2008.
This has led to many appearances on Irish television and radio, from “The Late Late Show” to “Ireland AM”, including the hit reality dance show “Celebrity Jigs and Reels”, where he reached the finals.
In 2007, Paul was approached by Phil Coulter to become one of the original soloists in the hit show Celtic Thunder. He toured America, Canada and Australia with the group and had six No. 1 World Billboard Chart albums with the group. This allowed Paul to perform on many international TV shows including “The Today Show.”
After leaving the production in 2010 to pursue his solo career, his subsequent album (This is the Moment) debuted at No. 1 on the World Billboard charts and was shortlisted for a Grammy nomination.
This has led to a successful solo touring career and he now performs his shows regularly throughout Ireland, North America and Canada.
Paul's latest album (By Contrast) is as the title suggests, completely different to the previous, in that it is an acoustic album with some of his favorite Irish and crossover songs on it.
After a busy Christmas tour and a sell out show in his hometown of Dublin, Paul is currently getting ready to head to Las Vegas for his very own St. Patricks Day show as part of another tour throughout America.
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