Róisín O debuts at No.3 on the Official Irish Albums Chart with Courageous

Róisín O has shot straight to No.3 on the Official Irish Albums Chart, following the release of her second solo album, Courageous, last week.

The chart success marks a major milestone for the recent Hot Press interviewee, as her first every Top 5 album. It's also the biggest release on physical formats this week, as well as the highest new entry on the chart. Her debut solo album, The Secret Life of Blue, previously reached No.21 following its release in 2012.

“I’m a completely different person now,” Róisín O recently told Hot Press – reflecting on her journey since the release of her debut LP. “I look back at me in 2012, and I was just a kid. I was mature in some ways, but I didn’t realise the grandiosity of releasing an LP or how important it is for your career.

“In some ways, maybe that was a good thing,” she continued. “Because it would have taken me way longer to release that debut album if I had known. The less you know when you’re young, the easier things are. So I really took it in my stride. But because I knew I wanted to be more involved in the creative process for my sophomore project, I was a lot more afraid about releasing it. I felt that it’d have to be perfect. I definitely went into myself a bit and felt like The Secret Life Of Blue was just a fluke. I was questioning myself as a musician. Even with my older interviews, I was incredibly nervous. I’d stumble over words and not know what I was talking about half the time.

“Maybe I still don’t! But I’m more assured of myself and who I am as an artist and human being. That being said, the more you know about this sector, the harder it is. Coming in at a younger age, I was naive to what was really going on. Now that I’m older and wiser, it’s still hard, but I’m not trying to play up to the demands of anyone. I feel like I’ve come full circle.”

Elsewhere on the chart, last week's No.1, Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia, is at No.5, while Ed Sheeran reclaims No.1 with =, following his Irish tour dates.

On the Official Irish Singles Chart, meanwhile, Harry Styles' 'As It Was' claims a fifth week at No.1 – becoming the longest-reigning chart topper of the year.

Read our full interview with Róisín O in the current issue of Hot Press: