Dolores oriordan burton biography of christopher

Irish musician (–)

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan (oh-REER-dən; 6 September – 15 January ) was an Irish musician who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band the Cranberries.^[2] O'Riordan was the principal songwriter of the band, and additionally performed acoustic and electric guitars. She became one of the most recognisable voices in alternative rock, and was known for her liltingmezzo-soprano voice, signature yodel, use of keening, and strong Limerick accent.

O'Riordan was born in County Limerick, Ireland, to a Catholic working-class family. She began to perform as a soloist in her church choir before leaving secondary school to join the Cranberries in The band released the number-one Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (), No Need to Argue (), To the Faithful Departed (), and Bury the Hatchet (). The Cranberries released their fifth album, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (), before going on hiatus in During this time, she released two solo studio albums: Are You Listening? () and No Baggage (). The Cranberries reunited in ,^[3] released Roses (), and went on a world tour. O'Riordan's other activities included appearing as a judge on RTÉ's The Voice of Ireland (–) and recording material with the trio D.A.R.K. (). The Cranberries' seventh album, Something Else (), was the last to be released during her lifetime.

Throughout her life, O'Riordan suffered from depression and the pressure of her own success; she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in She died from drowning due to alcohol intoxication in January After her death, the Cranberries released the Grammy-nominated album In the End (), featuring her final vocal recordings, and then disbanded.^[4] With the Cranberries, O'Riordan sold more than 40 million albums worldwide during her lifetime;^[5] that total increased to almost 50 million albums worldwide as of , excluding her solo albums.^[6] She was honoured with the Ivor Novello International Achievement award, and in the months following her death, she was named "The Top Female Artist of All Time" on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

Early life and education

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan was born on 6 September in Ballybricken in County Limerick, Ireland,^[7][8] the youngest of nine children, two of whom died in infancy.^[9] Her father, Terence Patrick "Terry" O'Riordan (–),^[10] worked as a farm labourer until a motorbike accident in left him brain damaged.^[11] Her mother, Eileen (née Greensmith), was a school caterer.^[9] O'Riordan was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family,^[12] and was named by her mother in reference to the Lady of the Seven Dolours.^[13][14] She grew up in the neighboring Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.^[14]

O'Riordan was singing before she could talk.^[15] When she was five years of age, the principal of her school took her into the sixth class, sat her on the teacher's desk, and told her to sing for the twelve-year-old students in the class.^[16][17] She started with traditional Irish music^[17] and playing the Irish tin whistle when she went to school.^[18] When she was seven years old, her sister accidentally burned the house down;^[20] the rural community was able to raise funds to purchase the family a new homestead.^[20] O'Riordan's formative experiences were as a liturgical soloist in the choir in a local church and as a singer at school.^[22] From the age of eight, she was sexually abused for four years by a person whom she trusted.^[23][24] At the age of ten, she would sing in local pubs where her uncles took her.^[25]

O'Riordan attended Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ school in Limerick.^[8][26] School principal Aedín Ní Bhriain said in the Limerick Post about O'Riordan's first day at Laurel Hill Coláiste at the age of twelve that she stood up in front of classmates and announced: "my name is Dolores O'Riordan and I'm going to be a rock star", then she stood on her chair and she sang "Tra la la la la, Triangles".^[22][27] According to her school friend Catherina Egan, she was "boisterous, wild, but lovely".^[22][27] She regularly played the spoons and the bodhrán.^[18] At the age of twelve, O'Riordan began piano lessons, and then later, achieved Grade 4 in Practical and Grade 8 in Theory.^[18] She sat every day at the piano in the main hall to play, then her classmates sat around her after having lunch to listen to her sing.^[22][27] At age 17, she learned to play the guitar and performed a solo gig in Laurel Hill Coláiste secondary school.^[28] That same year, she met her first boyfriend, Mike O'Mahoney.^[29][30]

She described having a strict daily routine through her teenage years that consisted of going to piano lessons, going to church and doing homework.^[31] O'Riordan later admitted that she had neglected her school lessons in favour of writing music and songs, although at school she became head girl.^[22][32] Former principal Anne Mordan said in Nova about O'Riordan that she was a "delightful, unsophisticated, sensitive student, who enjoyed her time with us"; she described her as "a bright, kind, good-humoured girl, who loved her family, her friends, and had an easy relationship with all her teachers, both lay and FCJ sisters."^[33] During her six years at Laurel Hill Coláiste, O'Riordan won the Slógadh song contest almost every year,^[22][34] at several local events, and culminating in national singing competitions.^[34] In total she won 20 Slógadh medals.^[35]

Around this time, O'Riordan divided the rest of her schedule among assisting her mother, learning the accordion from her dad, and having part-time employment at clothing shops.^[36] Her mother, whom she "adored", encouraged her to consider becoming a nun or get a college degree and become a music teacher; instead, she ran away from home at 18 and lived a couple of years with her boyfriend.^[37][38][39] In an interview with VOX Magazine, O'Riordan clarified her reasons for leaving home: "At 18 I left home because I wanted to sing. My parents wanted me to go to college and things like that. I was really poor for a year-and-a-half; I remember actually being hungry, like I'd die for a bag of chips. That's when I joined the Cranberries".^[40]

Career

– Formation of the Cranberries, early success and stardom

Main article: The Cranberries

In , brothers Mike (bass) and Noel (guitar) Hogan formed the Cranberries with drummer Fergal Lawler and singer Niall Quinn, in Limerick, Ireland. Less than a year later, Quinn left the band.^[44][a] He then told the remaining members that his girlfriend knew a girl who was looking for a band playing original material.^[17][45]

In mid, on a Sunday afternoon, O'Riordan and Quinn came to the band's rehearsal room, Noel Hogan later recalled that "Niall came up with Dolores on that Sunday and I remember she was shy, very soft-spoken. Not the Dolores that everyone grew to know. And she comes in and we're just kind of a gang of young guys sitting around the place. It must have been very, very intimidating for her".^[45] O'Riordan sang a couple of songs that she had written and she also did a Sinéad O'Connor song, "Troy".^[45] The band was impressed and gave her a cassette with instrumentals, asking her if she could work on it.^[17] When she returned with a rough version of "Linger", she was hired.^[17] Hogan told Rolling Stone that "the minute she sang, you know, it was like your jaw drops at her voice. Dolores was musically far superior to me, because she had been doing it all her life".^[45]

O'Riordan was still a student at Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ secondary school when she first joined the band.^[35][47] She had set her sights on the musical life and her desire to be in "a band with no barriers, where I could write my own songs", she told The Guardian in ^[9] At the time, she was doing her Leaving Certificate.^[8] The academic study did not hold much interest for her—although her marks in school were good.^[17] As a result, O'Riordan left school without any qualifications.^[32]

The Cranberries recorded demo tapes, including Nothing Left at All, a three-track EP released on tape by local record label Xeric Records, which sold copies. The owner of Xeric Studios, Pearse Gilmore, became their manager and provided the group with studio time to complete another demo tape, which he produced.^[17] It featured early versions of "Linger" and "Dreams", which were sent to record companies in the UK.^[49] This demo gained attention from both the UK press and record industry, and sparked a bidding war among record labels.^[17] Eventually, the group signed with Island Records.^[17] The group changed their name to "the Cranberries" and released a four-track EP, Uncertain.

By then, O'Riordan experienced difficult touring conditions with low income, sleeping on people's floors and in cramped vans across Ireland and UK.^[17] Furthermore, she had to overcome her shyness at the time during the early live performances with the Cranberries, singing "with her back to the audience".^[52] Lawler recalled, "we just went up, and we had six songs. Dolores was turned to the side; Noel, Mike and I had our heads down".^[17] At this stage, she had spent eight years with classical piano, and had played the harmonium in her church for ten years.^[18][31] O'Riordan had been rapidly gaining international attention after the release of the Cranberries' first album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?.^[9] It contained the group's most successful singles, "Dreams" and "Linger", which charted at No.&#;8 on the Billboard Hot when she was only ^[53]

Early in , O'Riordan injured her cruciate ligament in a ski accident in the Alps' Val-d'Isère and underwent major surgery.^[9][54] In September , the Cranberries released "Zombie", the lead single of the follow-up album, No Need To Argue.^[55] The song reached No.&#;1 of Triple J's Hottest , which was the first time ever that a female-led band had topped Australia's biggest song poll.^[56][57] She stood alone in the countdown's history for 16 years.^[56] In terms of female-fronted acts, O'Riordan still remains one of only two women to sing on a No.&#;1 song on the Hottest ranking [as of ].^[56][b] She reached her commercial peak with No Need to Argue, the top-selling album worldwide in the first semester of ,^[59] and the world's best selling album of the year by a European artist.^[60] The album produced the songs "Ode to My Family", "I Can't Be with You", "Ridiculous Thoughts" and the group's biggest international hit, "Zombie", which topped singles charts in several countries.^[61] Dan Weiss of Billboard stated that the song "Zombie", "could crush an entire room with the combined largesse of O'Riordan's ocean-swallowing voice".^[62] By this time, within the release of the first two albums of the Cranberries with accompanying tours, O'Riordan had achieved both success and celebrity status.^[63]

Eventually, O'Riordan had disengaged from Sinéad O'Connor due to the analogy made between them in the press. O'Riordan rejected and "loathed" the comparison, saying "[w]hat I do is so different. I might have been singing before she ever sang—who knows? It's not like I'm not going to sing because somebody from up the road got there first because she was a few years older than me."^[17] Her leg injury recurred unexpectedly and led to cancellation of the three concerts scheduled in Ireland for December ^[54] This resulted in a press backlash, while the audience was more understanding, as O'Riordan had mentioned that the concerts were not cancelled but postponed until June ^[54]

She has been recognised as a style icon, sporting a pixie cut or buzzed hair in the s, and performing barefoot, saying "it just feels comfortable and honest to pull your toes along the ground".^[9][64][65]Billboard's William Goodman described O'Riordan performing "Barefoot and strutting onstage, an Irish warrior poet with a bleached blonde pixie cut, gold chain necklace, singing without a flinch, as if it were ordained".^[5]The New York Times mentioned that O'Riordan was responsible for a large portion of Dr. Martens boots sales in the s.^[63]

After attending a concert of the Cranberries at London's Royal Albert Hall in January , author Alec Foege described O'Riordan as "part Audrey Hepburn, part David Bowie".^[17] On 23 March , O'Riordan appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. On 12 September , O'Riordan performed "Ave Maria" along with Luciano Pavarotti in his Pavarotti & Friends series of benefit concerts, entitled Together for the Children of Bosnia, which raised funds for War Child and the children of Bosnia, held in Modena, ss Diana, who attended the live performance, told O'Riordan that the song brought her to tears.^[68] During the show, O'Riordan performed "Linger" as a duet with Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran.^[69]

The Cranberries' third album, To the Faithful Departed debuted at number two in the UK,^[70] and number four in the US,^[71] with the singles "Free to Decide", "When You're Gone" and "Hollywood".^[70] It also featured the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single "Salvation".^[70] Halfway through the Free To Decide World Tour –97 promoting To the Faithful Departed, O'Riordan and the Cranberries canceled the remaining dates announcing that they would take time off in ^[30] While the group claimed that "exhaustion" was the result of an extensive touring schedule, pressure from managers—and press intrusion, suspicions and rumours from the press indicated "O'Riordan's health has deteriorated".^[72] O'Riordan publicly told Irish Examiner, "I was very depressed and I was extremely anorexic on that record, and as it came out I got progressively worse".^[73] O'Riordan was the one who made the decision to take a break,^[30] although their management and record company "went mental", the rest of the group supported her.^[74]Stephen Street later said that "perhaps she could have tempered her behavior and been more measured, but that wasn't her way."^[52]

On 12 November , Dolores O'Riordan and Fergal Lawler presented the award for Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards, in Milan, Italy.^[75][76] On 11 December , she performed live with the Cranberries at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert at Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway.

With the Cranberries she released Bury the Hatchet, which showcased a maturity of the group's sound.^[60] The album peaked at number one on both the Canadian Albums Chart,^[77] and on the European Top Albums,^[78] but did not match the commercial success of the group's first two albums.^[60] The world tour has been her biggest ever, which started in April and lasted until July ^[30][70]

Bury the Hatchet was quickly followed by her fifth effort with the group, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, released on 22 October ^[60] On 15 December , O'Riordan performed solo in the Vatican as part of the annual Vatican Christmas concert (Concerto di Natale) for Pope John Paul II.^[79][80] She sang "Analyse", "Panis angelicus", "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silent Night" with a piece orchestra accompanying all artists.^[79] The show was broadcast to well over million people around the world.^[81][82][83]

On 7 February , O'Riordan and the Cranberries announced in Dublin that they donated all the proceeds from their single "Time Is Ticking Out" to the Chernobyl Children's Project.^[84][85] She was accompanied at the Clarence Hotel by Ali Hewson, and its founder and executive director, Adi Roche. O'Riordan wrote and recorded the song in spring after seeing images shared with her by Hewson and Roche of children born with congenital anomalies and illnesses caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 26 April ^[84][85] O'Riordan explained, "I had just given birth to my second child, a beautiful healthy little girl. [ ] I had spoken with Ali on the subject before this, but I was so moved, almost to tears, that I wrote Time Is Ticking Out".^[84][85] On 14 December she received a second invitation to perform at the Vatican Christmas concert.^[80] O'Riordan sang "Linger", "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Adeste Fideles". Dolores was supported by the Millennium Symphony Orchestra on the three songs, directed by Renato Serio, and also by the Summertime Gospel Choir on "Adeste Fideles".^[81][86][87]

In June , O'Riordan met AC/DC singer Brian Johnson when the Cranberries were playing concerts with AC/DC and the Rolling Stones on the latest leg of their Licks World Tour, and they considered the idea of working together.^[88][89] In mid-July , the two friends started collaborating on material for a project that should have been the rock opera version of Helen Of Troy, based on the Greek mythology—with "rousing anthems, tender ballads and minimal dialogue".^[90][91] Johnson said he's been working on it for about seven years and that the musical to which O'Riordan would lend her voice was expected to feature many artists.^[90] The $&#;million production was initially to debut in March at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Florida.^[90] However, despite the pronouncement, the project was adjourned and Johnson expected it to be completed in late so that it could be played in London.^[90]

In , the band decided to take a temporary time-out to experiment with solo projects.^[92]

– Solo career and other projects

O'Riordan stated she had become a prisoner of her own celebrity and did not find a balance in her life.^[93] In The Independent, O'Riordan said she needed time not only to focus on her family and health but also on her solo career. She enjoyed being treated "like any ordinary person" living in Canada, and then became a volunteer at her children's school.^[94]

In , O'Riordan recruited Canadian music producer Dan Brodbeck and musicians to develop new compositions for her solo project.^[95] Among them was drummer Graham Hopkins, whom O'Riordan said she "loved for his energy".^[95] Also included bassist Marco Mendoza, who had been a long time friend with O'Riordan and her husband; while Mendoza's father was a good friend of O'Riordan's father-in-law.^[95] As well as Steve DeMarchi as the main guitarist, who used to do live sessions with the Cranberries, along with his brother Denny DeMarchi who played keyboards and guitars for the band in the early s.^[95] Brodbeck stated that their hiring was " per cent based on personalities clicking and musical tastes".^[96][97] DeMarchi brothers' family had long been friends with Dolores O'Riordan's husband and their three children.^[96] In a Canadian newspaper, Denny DeMarchi described that she was "a perfectionist on tour"; occasionally during the show, she would turn to her musicians and canceled a particular song "in the moment".^[96][97] Although the technical crew was frustrated because they had to make various changes, understanding prevailed, saying that "she was emotionally not able to go there". As described by DeMarchi, "[f]or her, singing wasn't just something to deliver it was a real experience."^[96][97]

On 6 March , O'Riordan performed "Ave Maria" during the 54th International Song Festival at the Ariston Theater, Sanremo, in northern Italy.^[] On 29 May , O'Riordan performed during the first concert of the Festivalbar, in Milan, Italy.^[] In , she appeared with the Italian artist Zucchero on the album Zu & Co., with the song "Pure Love".^[][] The album also featured other artists such as Sting, Sheryl Crow, Luciano Pavarotti, Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Macy Gray and Eric Clapton.^[][] In , O'Riordan worked with composer Angelo Badalamenti of Twin Peaks fame on the Evilenko soundtrack, providing vocals on several tracks, including "Angels Go to Heaven", the film's theme song.^[][][] Badalamenti later said that "she's a wonderful lyricist with an edge to her voice".^[]

In , she appeared on the Jam & Spoon's album Tripomatic Fairytales as a guest vocalist on the track "Mirror Lover".^[98][] On 3 December , O'Riordan made her third appearance at the Vatican's annual Christmas concert, where she performed "War Is Over", "Linger" and "Adeste Fideles" in duet with Italian tenor Gian Luca Terranova.^[81]

In April , O'Riordan signed a contract with Ciulla Management, based in Sherman Oaks, California.^[][] Prematurely before the release of her first solo album, the former Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson mentor Tony Ciulla became her manager.^[][] She made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy Click, released on 23 June , as a wedding singer performing an alternate version of the Cranberries' "Linger", set to strings.^[98][] On 9 December she would be invited at the Vatican Christmas concert which took place in Monte Carlo, as the concert which was to be held at the Vatican was canceled by the Pope Benedict XVI.^[] She sang "Angel Fire" from her forthcoming solo album with an orchestra and Steve DeMarchi, also "Away in a Manger" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".^[81] Since she had no label at the time, her husband Don Burton stated that they decided to go with an indie, and therefore, not continue with UMG during her hiatus.^[] In December , Sanctuary Records signed O'Riordan for a solo record deal; of their recently signed artist, Julian Wall of Sanctuary Records noted that "Dolores comes to us with an immense international CV".^[][]

The music video for "Ordinary Day", directed by Caswell Coggins, was filmed in Prague, in February ^[][]Are You Listening? was released in May The album entered and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums ranking, and number 77 on the Billboard ^[61] "Ordinary Day" was its first single, released in late April, and was produced by BRIT Awards winner, Martin "Youth" Glover, whose previous credits included the Verve, Embrace, Primal Scream, U2 and Paul McCartney.^[] In August "When We Were Young" was released as the second single from the album.^[] Colm O'Hare of Hot Press averred that O'Riordan could have chosen to exploit the underlying sonorities of the Cranberries on Are you Listening? to keep her devotees waiting until the reunion, but instead, "she's done something far more ambitious by releasing this multi-layered collection of songs that traverses styles and genres".^[] At that time, the couple split their time between Dublin and her husband's native Canada "surrounded by bears, wolves and all that great outdoor stuff", said O'Riordan.^[]

O'Riordan performed on many televised live performances in in support of that record, and travelled to over 22 countries in Europe, North America and South America on the O'Riordan world tour.^[][] On 21 March , she performed on TV show Taratata in Paris, France.^[] On 20 April , O'Riordan made an appearance live on The Late Late Show on RTÉ in Dublin.^[] On 16 May , she appeared on Carson Daly's late-night show, Last Call with Carson Daly, in Burbank, California, in an episode that aired on 18 May ^[][] She also appeared on 17 May , on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Burbank, California, in an episode that aired on 19 May ^[][] On 25 May , O'Riordan performed during a live broadcast of Channel 7's Sunrise in Sydney, Australia.^[] In May she played six songs acoustically at True Music with Katie Daryl on Hdnet in Los Angeles, California, in an episode that aired on 2 September ^[][] The same month she performed on the Heaven and Earth Show aired on BBC One.^[] On 29 June , O'Riordan took to the stage of Festivalbar in Catania, Italy.^[] On 2 August , Sanctuary Records UK division ceased their activity and was acquired by UMG at about $88&#;million.^[] O'Riordan commented, "they started off as a management company for Iron Maiden, maybe 25 years ago. But they've been around forever and now they've become a record company, and I thought, that looks grand and solid—they're indie and they'll be good. Jesus, six months into Are you Listening? they got bought out by Universal in the States".^[] On 19 November , she cancelled the remainder of her European Tour (Lille, Paris, Luxembourg, Warsaw and Prague) due to illness.^[] In December , she performed in a few small American clubs, including Des Moines, Nashville, and Charlottesville, Virginia.^[]

In , O'Riordan won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.^[]

In January , the University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin) invited the Cranberries to reunite for a concert celebrating O'Riordan's appointment as an honorary member of the Society, which led the band members to consider reuniting for a tour and a recording session.^[][][] Of the event, embracing her performance with the Cranberries, O'Riordan stated that "the minute we started playing it felt like we'd never stopped", pointing out that "it's a chemistry. It just fits".^[] O'Riordan released her second album No Baggage, featuring 11 tracks, in August ^[] The first single "The Journey" was released on 13 July , followed by a second single, "Switch Off the Moment". The music video for "The Journey" was directed by Robin Schmidt and filmed in 16&#;mm on 8 May , at Howth Beach Pier and at Howth Summit, Dublin, Ireland. The music video aired on 29 July ^[][] O'Riordan said of No Baggage "I probably haven't worn my heart on my sleeve like this since the second album No Need to Argue".^[] Nevertheless, No Baggage was poorly received by music critics compared to Are you Listening?, and neither album replicated the success of the Cranberries.^[][]

– Comeback and Roses

Main article: The Cranberries

On 25 August , while promoting her solo album No Baggage in New York City on RXP radio,^[] O'Riordan announced the Cranberries Reunion World Tour of concerts.^[][][] Following the statement, O'Riordan reported that she thought about how much she missed the band before making the decision to tour again, saying of Lawler and the two Hogan brothers that "they're a big part of my heart and soul".^[] In October , O'Riordan attended, along with actresses Tessa Thompson and Emma Bates, an event at The Westwood Theatre in Ontario, after a screening of South Dakota: A Woman's Right to Choose, a film about teenage pregnancy and abortion.^[] O'Riordan moderated a discussion with high school pupils; she remained neutral and allowed the girls to formulate their own opinions.^[] O'Riordan and the Cranberries allowed their songs "Dreams", "Empty" along with "Apple Of My Eye" and "Stupid", to feature in the film released in the US in October ^[][][]

The Cranberries reformed and the tour began in North America in mid-November, followed by South America in mid-January and Europe in March ^[][] The band played songs from O'Riordan's solo albums, many of The Cranberries' classics, as well as new songs.^[] In , O'Riordan told Billboard magazine that playing with Fergal Lawler, Noel, and Mike Hogan worked better dynamically with her voice.^[] By , O'Riordan suffered from vocal cord nodules which caused her doctor to prescribe six weeks of inability to perform. Consequently, concert dates were cancelled and postponed, but the recurring problem persisted until ^[][][]

On 1 July , a concert entitled "TU Warszawa"—"Here, Warsaw" was the main event of the inauguration of Poland's presidency of the EU council. O'Riordan performed "Zombie" and "I Lied" (English version of the Polish song "Skłamałam") with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, in Warsaw, Poland.^[][] At this point in her career, to keep up with her bookings, negotiations and finances, O'Riordan began to be managed by Danny Goldberg, former Kurt Cobain and Nirvana manager. Goldberg has also managed Sonic Youth and Courtney Love's band Hole.^[][][] O'Riordan celebrated the reunion by touring with the Cranberries across Asia in July , where the crowd was "impressed with her wide vocal range and strong vocal control".^[][] During the six years of their hiatus, O'Riordan and Noel Hogan occasionally shared ideas.^[] In , they recorded their sixth album, Roses with longtime producer Stephen Street, released in February ^[]

On 22 March , the Cranberries cancelled nine minutes before the show at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, O'Riordan suffered from food poisoning and was unable to perform. When she recovered, the Roses Tour resumed two days later and the cancelled show was rescheduled for 26 March.^[] In May , the final two concerts of the North American tour of the Cranberries had to be postponed for a then undisclosed reason, which was later said to involve from O'Riordan's "hectic touring schedule"; this caused some uncertainty about the upcoming European leg of the tour.^[] For the second leg of the Roses World Tour, O'Riordan hired a touring backing vocalist, Johanna Cranitch. During anterior tours, backup vocals were performed by the band's backup guitarist, Steve DeMarchi.^[][] In November , the extent to which her father's death was affecting O'Riordan was made public when she admitted in Le Télégramme that she was unable to perform "Ode to My Family" throughout the 32 shows of the second leg of the European tour; O'Riordan said "I hope to be able to sing it back one day, but for now, it's too soon".^[]

– The Voice of Ireland and Something Else

Main article: The Cranberries

O'Riordan replaced Sharon Corr as one of the mentors on RTÉ's The Voice of Ireland during the –14 season.^[][] O'Riordan reached the final of the competition with her act Kellie Lewis, who finished in second place.^[][] In October , O'Riordan and Marco Mendoza reconvened their partnership and were working on the songs for her announced third solo album scheduled for , and presumably some film possibilities.^[] Her final performance at the Vatican Christmas concert occurred in December ,^[80] where she performed "Letting Go" from Are You Listening?, "Silent Night" in duet with Elisa Toffoli, "Away in a Manger" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".^[81][] In the autumn of , as her hometown of Limerick was preparing to start its tenure as Irish City of Culture in , O'Riordan was approached by the city to play a special gig.^[] During a New Year's Eve party under the Spire of St Mary's Cathedral, she performed with a quartet from the Irish Chamber Orchestra, playing "Linger", "Zombie" and one solo, "The Journey".^[]

In mid-January , between shoots for The Voice, O'Riordan stated that she had written 15 songs for a solo album and she planned to go to Los Angeles to elaborate the start of the album.^[] In April , disillusioned by her experiences in the music industry, O'Riordan told Barry Egan that the record business made her "extraordinarily wealthy, but sucked the blood out of her, like a particularly ferocious vampire".^[] In mid-July , O'Riordan had announced that she would not return to The Voice of Ireland for a second season due to her health condition affected by flights from Dublin to Canada during seven weeks of filming.^[]

In April , O'Riordan began recording new material with Jetlag, a collaboration with Andy Rourke of the Smiths and Olé Koretsky, a DJ and producer based in New York. They then formed a trio under the name D.A.R.K. Their first album, Science Agrees, was released in September ^[][]

In late April , celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band, the Cranberries released a new studio album Something Else, featuring acoustic versions of their greatest hits, and backed by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Three new songs appear on this album: "Rupture," "Why" and "The Glory" the last song written by O'Riordan and Noel Hogan, in their song-writing partnership.^[][] The album was well received by critics; reviewers have praised "the return of one of Ireland's finest songsmiths", and reacted favourably to the orchestral and acoustic reimagining.^[][][] Music critic Karen Gwee has described O'Riordan's voice "more measured, more labile and rich with maturity", whilst "the thinness of her voice dilutes the anxious energy of "Animal Instinct", one of the album's tracks".^[]

In May , the band started the world tour as acoustic concerts, with a string quartet. Most of the time, O'Riordan sang seated on a stool. After eleven shows, O'Riordan was said to be in "excruciating pain". The Cranberries published on social media the cancellation of the sold-out tour in Europe and North America, stating that O'Riordan's back problem was in the mid- to upper area of her spine and diaphragmatic movements associated with breathing and singing exacerbated the pain.^[][] During her rest, O'Riordan had been planning a new album of the Cranberries, and had written and recorded demo versions in her final years.^[]

O'Riordan's last public performance was on 14 December in New York City, where she sang three Cranberries songs at Billboard's Christmas party.^[][][] On 15 December , Eminem released his album Revival which included a large sample from the song "Zombie" as the hook for his rap song "In Your Head".^[]

Artistry

Influences

O'Riordan's deeply religious mother had a strong influence on her musical development, introducing her to Elvis Presley at an early age.^[][] O'Riordan's Catholic education and experience playing the church organ also introduced her to classical church music genres such as Gregorian chant, which she described as having "great melodies."^{[][18][c][][]} Months before she died, O'Riordan tested the resonance and the acoustics of the Glenstal Abbey church in Ireland to sing there.^[] O'Riordan stated that this apprenticeship by this detachment of the world in a raw and devoted setting influenced a lot of her development as an artist and as a musician.^[]

She referred to Presley and John Lennon as particularly large influences during her early years. Other early influences include Frank Sinatra, Jim Reeves and Bing Crosby.^[] In her teenage years, O'Riordan spent much of her time with her brothers who listened to heavy metal music,^[9][] while being equally passionate about rock and Gaelic folk music.^[9][]

When she had reached the age of 16,^[18] O'Riordan had started listening to the Smiths,^[98]the Cure,^[98][]R.E.M.,^[94][]Depeche Mode,^[94][] which constituted her primary musical influences.^[18] She had also been influenced by the Kinks,^[]Magazine,^[][]Siouxsie and the Banshees,^[] and New Order.^[25][]

She credited Johnny McEvoy's song "The Old Bog Road" as one of the most beautiful old Irish songs and praised the Pogues' songs.^[] She made a reference to Ireland's most famous poet, William Butler Yeats.^[] O'Riordan stated of the grunge decade; "creatively it was a really great time", mentioning Pearl Jam, Blind Melon and Nirvana.^[] She wrote the song "I'm Still Remembering" six months after the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.^[][] In , talking about her three favourite albums, O'Riordan mentioned the Smiths' album The Smiths, Depeche Mode's album Violator, and the original soundtrack of the film The Mission.^[] Her other musical influences include Morrissey, Led Zeppelin,^[] also Metallica, and James Hetfield whom she met in ^[][][] She drew her influences from everyday life, events that occurred in the world, or her friendly and romantic relationships.^[]

Songwriting and musicianship

O'Riordan penned her first song, called "Calling", at the age of ^[] She was the lead lyricist and co-composer of the band's songs with guitarist Noel Hogan, although she wrote a lot of the song structures.^[][] In the early days of the Cranberries, Hogan gave her a sequence of chords he had composed; a week later she came back with lyrics finished of "Linger"^[d] and wrote "Sunday" shortly after.^[][] O'Riordan described in that she chose to be a singer and songwriter for the creative aspect, "something new", saying that she would not have been happy singing traditional Irish music for a living.^[]