Helen O’Shea – has released new single ‘If U Ever’, featuring acclaimed solo-artist James Maddock

Limerick-born, New-Jersey based roots artist Helen O’Shea has released new single ‘If U Ever’, featuring acclaimed solo-artist James Maddock.

‘If U Ever’, a rendition of the song by the late Sinéad O’Connor,follows six previous single releases from upcoming album Songs in the Key Of O (releasing May 1st). The album spans stunning tribute renditions to heartfelt originals penned by O’Shea with two-time GRAMMY award-winning producer Marc Swersky, including ‘Lost’ – an emotional rendition of the Cranberries’ track, in honour of Dolores O’Riordan – and RTÉ Recommends List added original single ‘Caged Birds’ (feat. Liam Ó’Maonlaí).

‘If U Ever’ is the final single ahead of the album release. The song, from Sinéad O’Connor’s 2000 album, Faith and Courage, resonated deeply with O’Shea, who chose it as one of three O’Connor originals to feature on the album.

An arguable hidden gem from O’Connor’s catalogue, O’Shea’s rendition highlights her signature ‘AmeriCeltiCana’ approach (Americana with a Celtic twist: Celtic melody with musical stylings that align with the Americana genre), taking inspiration from great Nashville artists such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and John Prine.

O’Shea explains how she always heard the song (originally sung solo by O’Connor), as a duet, and she was blessed to be connected with James Maddock (Wood) by her studio drummer Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors). Contributing a soulful, raspy deliverance, Maddock vocals intertwine warmly with O’Shea, capturing the poignant beauty of the song, which centres around O’Connor’s troubled relationship with her mother.

On his collaboration with O’Shea, Maddock stated, “I had a wonderful time recording this classic song with Helen and I’m a huge Sinead fan, so it was a double thrill.”

O’Shea explains that “the story behind ‘Songs In The Key Of O’ is a simple one. It is a love letter to two of my biggest influences in music and in life: Sinéad O’Connor and Dolores O’Riordan”. Helen grew up in Limerick, Ireland and longed to make her life all about the beauty of song. However, her father encouraged her to pursue a medical career, and so the door to a music career was firmly closed behind her. Years later, after Helen’s father was tragically killed in a car accident, she immediately felt him guiding her back to singing from beyond the grave.

HELEN O’SHEA SOCIALS:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Spotify