The Script

As an Irish band with big guitars and the kind of soaring anthems that feel built for stadiums, The Script inevitably attracted comparisons with U2 when the trio’s self-titled debut album became a worldwide hit in 2008. Yet the band achieved something fresh and remarkably contemporary by merging emotive, engaging rock with melodies, textures, and rhythms drawn more from pop, hip-hop, and R&B. That synthesis reflects the unique background of The Script’s songwriting team of vocalist/guitarist Daniel O’Donoghue and guitarist Mark Sheehan, who got their start together in the Irish boy band Mytown. They then worked in Los Angeles as a writing and production team for Britney Spears and Boyz II Men before returning to Dublin to form The Script with drummer Glen Power. Their breakthrough single in the UK and Ireland, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved,” demonstrated all they’d learned about constructing sticky songs as well as O’Donoghue’s flair for Bono-worthy dramatics. “Hall of Fame,” a 2012 collaboration with will.i.am, was further evidence of The Script’s ability to combine modern sounds in a way that felt organic and compelling. On 2017’s Freedom Child, they’d again strike a balance between their embrace of the now—the dancehall-infused feel of “No Man is an Island” being one irresistible example—and a warmth that evokes Van Morrison, another Irish musical hero and a key influence on The Script’s own brand of Celtic soul.