Damian McGinty: EP is '˜beginning of new phase' in Derry-born singer's career

The Derry-born singer and performer recently released his first EP of original material, called ‘One More Time’ and it has been enjoying huge success in America.

The EP, which has been released in conjunction with Damian’s solo tour, has already gone into the Independent charts on Billboard, placed Top 20 in Heatseekers on Billboard and also hit number nine on iTunes, directly behind Taylor Swift’s new record.

Speaking to the ‘Journal,’ the Celtic Thunder and Glee star said it has “already exceeded anything I thought it would.”

He said: “Those numbers are crazy to me. But, at the same time, what’s more important at this point is the music being heard, and building off of that. I’m releasing a full album early next year. I’ve written 90 per cent of it and I’m excited for people to hear it.”

Damian told how the EP was the beginning of a “new phase” in his career after he started the writing process “about four or five years ago.”

He said: “I was interested in writing my own music. But, the way my career has turned out, it’s always been so busy doing other projects,such as Celtic Thunder, The Glee Project or Glee, that in my younger years I never got a chance to learn the craft. So, when I entered my 20s I decided I wanted to get better at songwriting and work on it, because I have a lot of stories to tell. In the last four or five years I’ve probably written close to 100 songs. I feel like I finally got to a place where I’m capable of releasing original music and this EP is beginning that new phase in my career for me.”

Damian found inspiration for the songs from his experiences of “meeting and working with different people from all walks of life” while travelling the world for 11 years with Celtic Thunder.

He said: “I’ve been fortunate already at this point to experience more than most, and see more than most, so I wanted to put those stories and experiences into songs. I’ve always had a love for pop music and this EP definitely has a light pop influence. I think after years of searching for my sound, I’ve found it. The reason I know I found it is because when people ask: ‘What is your sound?’ really, the only answer I can give is: ‘It’s me, it’s Damian McGinty’ and I don’t really think it sounds like anything else. It’s a mixture of pop and folk and under the surface there’s a slight Nashville element to the music.”

Damian is currently promoting the album and his new single ‘You Should Know’ on his first “incredible” solo tour around the U.S.

He said there has been “a bigger reaction than I expected, more excitement than I expected and people singing along to the new music, which blows me away every night.”

Damian told how, as a child in Derry, he never expected to achieve the success he has.

He said: “I definitely always had dreams, but they were much more shallow and, as a kid in Derry, simply because I didn’t realise what was possible. I didn’t realise how many different things could be achieved. It’s only when I really dived into this career at 14 years old that I started realising different targets; different aims; different missions. But if you had told me at 14 that I would have sold 3.5 million records with CT; won The Glee Project; be in Glee for a couple of years; shoot a Christmas movie, to be released at the end of 2018 and then place a solo EP on Billboard that I’ve written with my producers Cian Sweeney,Matt Weir and Pete Wallace, I would have said that’s beyond anything I could ever dream up, to be totally honest. But it’s funny, that’s in my past; I don’t feel like I’ve achieved those things. I just always look forward to see what’s next. I have bigger dreams now that I know are realistic and that I’m very driven to achieve. I’ll reflect on past achievements when I’m seventy.”

Damian is still performing with Celtic Thunder, which he describes as “the gift that keeps on giving” and recently sang the American National Anthem with the group, which he described as “something I’ll not forget.”

He is also “excited” about the release of his first film in November, called ‘Santa Fake.’ He plays the lead role in the Christmas film, which was “incredibly intense” and is “excited for people to see it.”

You can find ‘One More Time’ at usual outlets and on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.