RONAN TRIES AGAIN AFTER AMERICAN DREAM FLOPS JOHN BURNS

RONAN KEATING is to have a second crack at the American market next year after the Irish singer's first attempt this year ended in failure.
Despite an expensive marketing exercise, and a IR£19,000 bill for having his teeth straightened, Americans were unimpressed with the former Boyzone star. Now his management say they released the wrong Keating single in America, and are to try all over again next year.
Lovin' Each Day, released on June 5, had sold only 25,000 copies in America up to last week, according to Sound Scan, a company that tracks music sales. During its best week, Keating's single sold 2,000 copies.
"The song was not a hit here. It made only one Billboard chart - reaching No 32 on the adult top 40 radio chart, for stations catering to a slightly older audience than the mainstream top 40 stations," said Silvio Pietroluongo of Billboard. "The song did not reach the Billboard hot 100 or the hot 100 airplay chart."
By contrast Samantha Mumba's Gotta Tell You has sold 410,000 copies since its release in August 2000 and she regularly charts. Craig David, the British singer, made an assault on the elusive American market at about the same time as Keating. His single, Fill Me In, has sold 364,000 copies since May.
One of Keating's publicity team admitted last week the singer would have to relaunch next year.
"Management are still very optimistic for him. He has a chance because there aren't many white, clean-cut guys in the charts," he said.
"They went with the wrong song. Lovin' Each Day didn't get the radio play they thought it was going to get, so they cancelled all the shows and everything. They are going to release Life is a Rollercoaster, that's the song that will be used to break the market."
Plans to release Keating's album, Ronan, in America have also been shelved. Due out this autumn, it has been postponed to next year. "We are just trying to make sure it gets out at the right time," one of the singer's American managers explained.
The best songs from Keating's last and next albums are now expected to be merged for an American compilation.
Keating is understood to have been paid a $2m (£1.73m) advance to launch his solo career and was touted as the next Bryan Adams. Ironically, his single performed better in Canada, Adams' native country.
"We might be able to use Canada as a back door into America," said a publicity manager.
While Keating has said American success is not "the be-all and end- all", Interscope, his record company, insisted he had his teeth capped to create the perfect smile for the American market.
They also air-brushed his chest hair out of promotional pictures, in case it damaged his clean-cut image. About £300,000 was spent filming videos for his tracks in a desert in California, but the Lovin' Each Day recording was never shown in America after the single flopped. Interscope also arranged for Keating to perform live for "taste makers", who were to spread the word about how good he was.
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington will delay Keating's second attempt at the American market.
Westlife, the Irish boy band, are also planning a six-month tour and several record releases in America next year, but they could also be delayed.