Louis Walsh (born Kiltimagh County Mayo, Ireland, August 5, 1952) is a manager in the music industry.
As of October 2004 his acts have totalled 27 #1 singles.
Career
Among his more successful acts was singer/songwriter Johnny Logan, 2 times winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.
He has also had groups who enjoyed mild success such as Six and Bellefire.
However, his career as a pop group manager has not been all success. He has had failed acts such as The Carter Twins. His notoriety has even got him his own song - Louis Walsh by Irish band The Revs.
Louis was a judge on reality television series Popstars: The Rivals. On the show he was the Girls' manager, alongside Geri Halliwell (independent judge) and Pete Waterman, who managed the Boys. Louis final group was called Girls Aloud, who are still going today. Pete's group One True Voice flopped and have been dropped from their record label. The show coincided with trying to get the coveted Christmas #1. Louis' group Girls Aloud got the #1, Petes group got the #2 slot, and the Cheeky Girls (who auditioned on the show but were rejected) got the #3 position. The show was presented by Davina McCall.
Walsh has recently appeared as a judge (along with Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne) on the ITV1 talent show, The X Factor. In November 2005 it was reported that Walsh quit the show mid-series out of protest regarding his treatment on the show; the most explicit example being fellow judge Osbourne drenching him with drinking water during a live recording. Many viewers regarded this merely as a publicity stunt and Walsh returned on the Saturday evening's live show, stating that he could not abandon his remaining competitor, Shayne Ward. Ward went on to win the competition with over 10 million viewers voting in the final.Walsh then went on to win Celebrity X Factor with actor Lucy Benjamin. In series 3 of the X Factor, Walsh was involved in an incident when he offended an angry female contestant, who then proceded to throw a glass of water over Walsh, which resulted in Walsh throwing his water over her. The contestant later went on to claim in an interview with an X Factor website, that she would audition again next year with a water pistol.
List of groups he has managed
Walsh has managed many singers and groups, including:
See also
External links
- Unreality TV - News and Gossip on Louis Walsh
- Louis Fan Forum as featured on THE X FACTOR
- Louis' profile at itv.com
- A fansite for the UK TV show 'The X Factor'
 | This article on an individual musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |