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 Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with t ...

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

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

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

, and classical. They were originally part of the boy band b4-4 that also included Ohad Einbinder. B4-4 was renamed Before Four for later European releases. The Kowarsky brothers worked later on as a vocal duo known as RyanDan. They have also produced for a number of mainly Canadian artists including Blake McGrath,

Shawn Desman Shawn Bosco Fernandes (born January 12, 1982), better known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and television personality. He was signed to Universal Music Canada. He is known for his energetic stage presenc ...

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was signed to CP Records from 2008 until January 2014. Personal life Danny Fernandes is of Portuguese descent. He has a younger brother named Jonathan ...

, Tyler Medeiros,

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", "Burning", "Latin Moon" and "Beast". Martina has received Juno Awards nominations for "Stereo Love" ...

Massari Sari Abboud ( ar, ساري عبّود; born December 10, 1980), better known by his stage name Massari ( ), is a Lebanese Canadian R&B pop recording artist. His music combines Middle Eastern culture with western culture. He started his musical c ...

and others. They have also appeared as background vocals for

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

in concert.

Beginnings

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

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

, Ohio. The youngest of five children in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

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 Gould was also instrumental in encouraging them. She was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

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'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Th ...

''.

In b4-4 / Before Four

At age 16, they presented themselves at the offices of

Sony Music Canada Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

, and attracted the attention of record company executives when they sang " Show Me the Way to Go Home" in the reception area. They were signed to a record contract soon after forming a boy band called b4-4 along with their friend Ohad Einbinder. They received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

nomination in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

for Best New Group, but lost to

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adai ...

. 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 and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. They recorded their album '' RyanDan'' with producer Steve Anderson, who has worked with

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

and

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

. 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 at ...

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 Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city i ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but 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 Blake McGrath's '' Time to Move'', including "Relax",

's " Latin Moon" and "

Stereo Love "Stereo Love" is a song recorded by Romanian DJ Edward Maya with Moldovan-Romanian musician Vika Jigulina, released as their debut single in 2009 from Maya's album, ''The Stereo Love Show''. The refrain is from "Bayatılar", composed by Azerba ...

", "

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

" by

, and a number of tracks for Tyler Medeiros.

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 Ainsl ...

'' 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-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

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" - Blake McGrath *2010: "Feel It" -

ft.

*2010: "

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

" - Tyler Medeiros ft.

*2010: "

" -

ft. Belly *2011: "Latin Moon" -

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

" -

*2013: "Heartbreaker" -

*2015: "Guilty as Sin" - Dan Talevski *2015: "My Religion" - Dan Talevski *2016: "Wicked" - Tyler Shaw *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 describe ...

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

References

External links

RyanDan.com
Official Site {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryandan 1979 births Musical groups from Toronto 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