The vocal group is made up of singers from Ireland, with Walsh auditioning a thousand singers for the band. HomeTown consisted of Cian Morrin, Dayl Cronin, Dean Gibbons, Josh Gray, Ryan McLoughlin, and Brendan Murray.
The band was originally composed of five members, Gareth Borrow (Derry), Ryan McLoughlin (Newbridge), Brendan Murray (Galway), Cian Morrin (Castlebar) and Dayl Cronin (Clonmel). The five were picked out of a thousand applicants for a band project by Walsh.[1]
Borrow was later removed from the band and Walsh brought in two new members, Josh Gray (Blessington) and Dean Gibbons (Tallaght), turning HomeTown into a six-piece band.[2]
Their first single, "Where I Belong", debuted at number one in Ireland, becoming the fastest-selling single from a debut act and the fastest-selling single from an Irish artist in 2014.[3] The single was written by Kodaline. The band's second single, "Cry for Help", was released on 27 March 2015 in Ireland. The song also reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart. The band began a signing tour around Ireland shortly after. They released their first single "Where I Belong" in the UK on 24 July 2015, with 4 September as the impact date (the day a track is meant to start receiving significant airplay).[4][5]
On 23 October 2015, HomeTown released their third single "The Night We Met", which was written by Liam Payne of One Direction and Jamie Scott. On 20 November 2015, HomeTown released their self-titled debut album, which debuted at number 4 on the Irish Albums Chart. In August 2016, the band released "Roses" as the fourth and final single from the album.[6][7] In October 2016, the band made their European debut in Madrid, Spain, where they played to a sold-out Barclaycard Center at the Coca-Cola Music Experience festival,[8] alongside other acts such as Meghan Trainor and Bea Miller.
In December 2016, HomeTown announced that its members would be taking a break from music to pursue individual projects.[9] Shortly after, Brendan Murray was announced as the Irish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.[10] Dayl Cronin took part in the Irish version of Dancing With the Stars in 2017.
Members
Brendan Murray (born 16 November 1996), Murray represented Ireland in Eurovision in 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine, but failed to qualify for the grand final. He competed on the fifteenth series of The X Factor and was eliminated in the semifinals.
Dayl Cronin (born 8 December 1993). Cronin started his own dance school in Longs Yard, Tower Street, Cork
Dean Gibbons (born 17 February 1994)
Josh Gray (born 28 March 1997) released 'We Should Run' in May 2018.
Ryan McLoughlin (born 27 January 1994) McLoughlin released single 'Nobody like You' on 25 August 2017.