RyanDan (born December 5, 1979) is a Canadian musical, songwriting and producing duo, consisting of identical

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

s Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, whose music is a mix of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, and classical. The Kowarsky brothers were originally part of the boy band

B4-4 B4-4, later known as Before Four (both stylized in lowercase), was a Canadians, Canadian boy band from Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. The band was composed of twins RyanDan, Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, along with Ohad Einbinder. They were signed to Sony ...

(also known as Before Four). They later worked as a vocal duo known as RyanDan. They have also produced for a number of Canadian artists including

Blake McGrath Blake Andler McGrath (born November 21, 1983) is a Canadian professional dancer, pop singer, actor, model, and choreographer. He was known for being on the first season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show ...

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

Tyler Medeiros Tyler Medeiros (born July 11, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. Personal life Medeiros was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, to a Portuguese father and an Italian mother. He attended St. Anthony's Catholic Elementary School ...

Mia Martina Martine Johnson, better known by her stage name Mia Martina, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is known for her hit singles "Stereo Love#Mia Martina version, Stereo Love", "Burning", "Latin Moon" and "Beast (Mia Martina song), Beast". Mar ...

Massari Sari Abboud (; born December 10, 1980), better known by his stage name Massari ( ), is a Lebanese-Canadian singer and songwriter. He began his career in the early 2000s and went on to release two contemporary R&B, R&B albums, ''Massari (album), Ma ...

and others. They have also appeared as background vocals for

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

in concert.

Career

Career beginnings

Identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky were born December 5, 1979, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio to Adele Gould and Paul Kowarsky. The youngest of five children in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, they grew up in the Thornhill neighbourhood north of Toronto. Their father, Paul, a South African who attended King David Linksfield (a Jewish day school in Johannesburg, South Africa), is an operatic singer who frequently sang as a cantor in synagogues both in South Africa and after immigrating to Canada. Their mother, Adele was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in 2004. In high school, Ryan and Dan shared the lead role in their school's production of ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

''.

In b4-4 / Before Four

At age 16, they presented themselves at the offices of

Sony Music Canada Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, and attracted the attention of record company executives when they sang "

Show Me the Way to Go Home "Show Me the Way to Go Home" is a popular song written in 1925 by the English songwriting team Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly, using the pseudonym "Irving King". The song is said to have been written on a train journey from London by Campbell and ...

" in the reception area. They were signed to a record contract soon after forming a boy band called

b4-4 B4-4, later known as Before Four (both stylized in lowercase), was a Canadians, Canadian boy band from Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. The band was composed of twins RyanDan, Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, along with Ohad Einbinder. They were signed to Sony ...

along with their friend Ohad Einbinder. They received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

nomination in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

for Best New Group, but lost to

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Hanna, Alberta. Throughout its history, it has consisted of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan ...

. They also enjoyed some success in Germany as Before Four.

As RyanDan

They eventually wanted to cultivate a more adult sound and fan base, and in 2006, they moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. They recorded their album ''

RyanDan RyanDan (born December 5, 1979) is a Canadian musical, songwriting and producing duo, consisting of identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, whose music is a mix of pop, opera, and classical. The Kowarsky brothers were originally part of the boy ...

'' with producer Steve Anderson, who has worked with

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. They cite opera singer

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...

as a strong influence on their music. Their debut self-titled album received critical acclaim including "The Face", which was co-penned by Stephan Moccio and for "Tears of an Angel" written by the duo in memory of their late niece, Tal, who died from a brain tumour at age four while they were recording the album on which it appears. Their scheduled follow-up album in 2010 entitled ''Silence Speaks'' was postponed and never released. The album was renamed ''Imagine'' but also failed to be released on schedule in 2011 and then in 2012. One song, "Is Love Enough (To Save the World)" has been released on Canadian radio with an accompanying music video. Ryan and Dan performed with Shania Twain during her Still The One show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas which ended in December 2014. They have also performed with her at the Calgary Stampede and at Founders Week in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Canada, on August 30, 2014.

Music production

Ryan and Dan Kowarsky have also devoted their talents to production. Their experience includes songwriting efforts for several tracks on

's '' Time to Move'', including "Relax",

's " Latin Moon" and "

Stereo Love "Stereo Love" is a song by Romanian musician Edward Maya featuring Moldovan-Romanian musician Vika Jigulina. It was released as their debut Single (music), single on 23 February 2009 for Airplay, radio airplay in Romania, and was later included o ...

", "

Automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...

" by

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

, and a number of tracks for

In popular culture

RyanDan's "Tears of an Angel", written for their niece diagnosed with cancer, was used in a group dance routine by dancers during episode 12 of season 10 of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

''. The dance was designed by choreographer Bonnie Story who used the piece in an "anti-bullying" dance subject based on an actual bullying incident experienced by a friend of hers. In 2007, they also appeared on the BBC daytime TV cooking reality show ''

Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...

'' as assistant chefs.

Personal life

Ryan and Dan own a dog boarding camp just north of Toronto called Camp Cookstown.Camp Cooktown Official website
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Discography

Albums

Guest albums

* 2008: " The Water is Wide" (guest vocals) (

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

with

Amy Sky Amy Sky (born 24 September 1960) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, theatre actress, and television host. Sky started classical music lessons at the age of five, and plays piano, guitar, cello and recorder. She has a degree from t ...

and RyanDan) (appears in album '' A Celebration in Song: Olivia Newton-John & Friends'')

Singles

Songwriting and production credits

*2010: "Relax" -

*2010: "Feel It" -

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

ft.

Shawn Desman Shawn Bosco Fernandes (born January 12, 1982), known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer. Early life Shawn Desman attended St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Toronto. After disco ...

*2010: "

Girlfriend A girlfriend is a woman who is a friend, acquaintance or partner to the speaker, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed r ...

" -

ft.

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

*2010: "

" -

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

ft.

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, ce ...

*2011: "Latin Moon" -

*2011: "Please Don't Go (Say I Love You)" -

*2011: "

" -

*2013: "Heartbreaker" -

*2015: "Guilty as Sin" - Dan Talevski *2015: "My Religion" - Dan Talevski *2016: "Wicked" -

Tyler Shaw Tyler Shaw (born April 8, 1993) is a Canadian singer and actor. After winning the "MuchMusic Coca-Cola Covers Contest 2012" organized by the Canadian music cable channel Much (TV channel), MuchMusic, he released his debut single, "Kiss Goodnig ...

*2016: "Knock Me Off My Feet" - Dan Talevski *2016: "Rocket" - Dan Talevski *2017: "Birthday Suit" - Dan Talevski *2018: "The Wire" - Dan Talevski *2019: "Home Alone" - Dan Talevski *2019: "If I Ain't Got You" - Dan Talevski *2019: "This Is How We Do It" - Dan Talevski *2019: "Too Close" -

Ria Mae Ria MacNutt, known professionally as Ria Mae, is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career As a child, Mae's family moved around Halifax, switching from school to school while she learned to write songs. Ria has describ ...

with Dan Talevski *2020: "Touch The Sky" - Dan Talevski

References

External links

RyanDan.com
Official Site {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryandan 1979 births Musical groups from Toronto American emigrants to Canada Canadian pop music groups Musical groups established in 2006 Canadian musical duos Jewish Canadian musicians Canadian twins Twin musical duos Identical twin males 2006 establishments in Ontario Living people Canadian people of South African descent Male musical duos