Wee Daniel has been paving a way for me in the US, reveals Nathan Carter
HE’S already a bona fide superstar in Ireland, but country singer Nathan Carter is hoping a little help from veteran Daniel O’Donnell can help him crack America.
The Liverpool-born performer, right, will tour the US with former Celtic Woman singer Chloe Agnew, daughter of panto queen Twink, in September in a bid to grow his fanbase worldwide.
It comes after the release of his new album Livin’ The Dream, which debuted at No.1 in the Irish charts.
Carter, 27, told the Irish Daily Mail it would be a dream come true if he could follow in the footsteps of O’Donnell, 55, across the Atlantic.
The Donegal singer is an established name Stateside and has enjoyed years of successful touring there thanks to his loyal following.
‘Daniel has been very good to me,’ Carter said. ‘He’s just returned from the States and promoted me everywhere he went, so fair play to him. If he can help he does – which is quite rare, because most people in this business like to keep it to themselves. Daniel’s a good guy.
‘When I moved to Ireland he got my number and rang me to congratulate me on my CD and at the time he said to give him a shout if I ever needed help – and he has been [helpful] ever since,’ the Wagon Wheel singer said.
Ahead of his US tour dates in September, Carter is recording for the new season of his RTÉ series The Nathan Carter Show.
This week he is performing in front of a live audience at the Knocknarea Arena in Sligo. With four nights on stage at the venue, his guest line-up includes Westlife’s Shane Filan tomorrow, Stella Parton – younger sister of legend Dolly – on Friday, and former member of boyband JLS, Aston Merrygold, on Saturday.
In addition to a string of duets, Carter will perform many hits from his latest album, as well as previous crowd favourites.
‘Getting to work with different artists from different genres is always great fun,’ he said. ‘You’ve got Shane, a great pop singer, and then traditional groups on, and rock bands too. For me, it keeps things fresh.
‘I’m doing new songs I’ve never sung before, like theme songs from films, and two songs from the new album, which I’m looking forward to.’
Livin’ The Dream – Carter’s ninth album in ten years – outsold the 30th anniversary edition of U2’s The Joshua Tree when it became available, and Carter admitted its success even shocked him.
He said: ‘I was surprised [when it went to No.1 in the charts]. With streaming nowadays, it’s pretty tough going. I did a lot of signings over the last ten days to get enough units to compete with Ed Sheeran.’