Life Is a Rollercoaster

"Life Is a Rollercoaster" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating from his debut solo album, Ronan (2000). The song was written and produced by New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander, and Rick Nowels, having originally been intended for the second New Radicals album which never came to fruition due to Alexander's decision to break up the band. The opening refrain of the song is similar to that of a leaked Alexander song, "A Love Like That", suggesting that parts of the song were incorporated in Keating's song.^{[citation needed]}

"Life Is a Rollercoaster"
Single by Ronan Keating
from the album Ronan
B-side	"Since 13" "You" "Thank God I Kissed You"
Released	10 July 2000 (2000-07-10)
Studio	Fredonia International, Track Record (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Pop rock^[1]
Length	3:56
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Gregg Alexander Rick Nowels
Producer(s)	Gregg Alexander Rick Nowels
Ronan Keating singles chronology
"These Days" (1999) "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (2000) "The Way You Make Me Feel" (2000)

"Life Is a Rollercoaster" was released on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The song debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland, becoming Keating's second number-one single in both countries. In the UK, where the song was subject to a charting controversy, it became the 22nd-biggest-selling single of the year, and it has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales and streams exceeding 600,000 units. Worldwide, "Life Is a Rollercoaster" topped the music charts of the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Iceland and peaked within the top 10 in an additional nine countries.

Release and controversy

In the United Kingdom, Polydor Records released "Life Is a Rollercoaster" on 10 July 2000 across three formats: an enhanced CD single, a limited-edition CD single, and a cassette single.^[2] The original version of the enhanced CD contains two B-sides—"Since 13" and "You"—as well as a CD-ROM interview with Ronan Keating.^[3] This caused an issue when the Chart Supervisory Committee (CSC) ruled the format ineligible to chart, discarding about 100,000 copies of the single that had already been sold.^[4][5]

Under the previous chart regulations, the enhanced section of a CD had to contain an enhanced version of an audio track that was on the same disc, to which CD1 of "Life Is a Rollercoaster" did not comply.^[6] As a result, more pressings of the limited-edition CD were created while a new enhanced CD was rush-released.^[4] This incident caused the CSC to add new rules regarding multimedia formats, which came into effect in late August 2000.^[6] On its second week of release, the ineligible CD sold about 14,000 more copies during the first half of the week, which would have given "Life Is a Rollercoaster" a second week at number one on the UK Singles Chart.^[5]

Track listings

UK CD1 (original)^[3] "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (radio edit) "Since 13" "You" (radio edit) Interview (CD-ROM) UK CD1 (re-issue) and Australian CD single^[7] "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (radio edit) "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (instrumental version) "Thank God I Kissed You" "When You Say Nothing at All" (acoustic version) "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (CD-ROM video)

UK CD2^[8] "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (radio edit) "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (karaoke version) "Thank God I Kissed You" UK 7-inch and cassette single^[9]^[10] "Life Is a Rollercoaster" (radio edit) "Since 13"

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Ronan album booklet.^[11]

Studios

• Recorded at Fredonia International Studios and Track Record (Hollywood, California)
• Mixed at Larrabee Studios (West Hollywood, California)
• Mastered at 777 Productions (London, England)

Personnel

• Gregg Alexander – writing, production
• Rick Nowels – writing, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, production
• Danielle Brisebois – backing vocals, Pro Tools editing
• Yvonne Williams – backing vocals
• Jackie Smiley – backing vocals
• Sue Ann Carwell – backing vocals
• Rusty Anderson – guitars
• John Pierce – bass guitar
• Charles Judge – piano, keyboards, synthesizers
• Free – Pro Tools editing
• Paula J. Jones – recording
• Randy Wine – recording
• Dave Way – mixing
• Wayne Rodrigues – programming
• Colleen Donahue-Reynolds – production coordination
• Arun Chakraverty – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2000) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[12] 6 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[13] 13 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[14] 24 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)^[15] 3 Czech Republic (IFPI)^[16] 1 Denmark (IFPI)^[17] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[18] 10 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[19] 16 France (SNEP)^[20] 69 Germany (Official German Charts)^[21] 10 Iceland (Íslenski listinn Topp 40)^[22] 1 Ireland (IRMA)^[23] 1 Italy (FIMI)^[24] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[25] 7 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[26] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[27] 2 Norway (VG-lista)^[28] 2 Portugal (AFP)^[29] 3 Scotland (OCC)^[30] 1 Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[31] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[32] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[33] 11 UK Singles (OCC)^[34] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Australia (ARIA)^[35] 50 Denmark (IFPI)^[36] 16 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[37] 52 Germany (Official German Charts)^[38] 59 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[39] 56 Ireland (IRMA)^[40] 24 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[41] 87 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[42] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[43] 57 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[44] 72 UK Singles (OCC)^[45] 22 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)^[46] Gold 35,000^^ Norway (IFPI Norway)^[47] Gold   Sweden (GLF)^[48] Gold 15,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)^[49] Platinum 600,000 ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Cooper, Kevin (12 September 2020). "Album Review: Ronan Keating – Twenty Twenty". UK Music Reviews. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
2. "New Releases – For Week Starting July 10, 2000: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 8 July 2000. p. 23. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
3. Life Is a Rollercoaster (UK CD1 single liner notes). Ronan Keating. Polydor Records. 2000. 561 935-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
4. Jones, Alan (22 July 2000). "Chart Commentary". Music Week. p. 15.
5. Jones, Alan (29 July 2000). "Chart Commentary". Music Week. p. 13.
6. Williams, Paul (29 July 2000). "CSC to Confirm Multimedia Rules After Keating Breach". Music Week. p. 4.
7. Life Is a Rollercoaster (UK CD1 & Australian CD single liner notes). Ronan Keating. Polydor Records. 2000. 587 733-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. Life Is a Rollercoaster (UK CD2 liner notes). Ronan Keating. Polydor Records. 2000. 561 936-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Life Is a Rollercoaster (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Ronan Keating. Polydor Records. 2000. 561 936-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Life Is a Rollercoaster (UK cassette single sleeve). Ronan Keating. Polydor Records. 2000. 561 936-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Ronan (UK CD album booklet). Ronan Keating. Polydor Records. 2000. 549 103-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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17. Billboard (5 February 2000). "Billboard February 5, 2000". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
18. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 31. 29 July 2000. p. 7. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
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29. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 36. 2 September 2000. p. 13. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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31. "Ronan Keating – Life Is a Rollercoaster" Canciones Top 50.
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34. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
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36. (in Danish). IFPI Danmark. Archived from the original on 16 November 2001. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via Musik.org.
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38. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
39. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 January 2001. p. 10. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
40. . Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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45. "Best Sellers of 2000: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media. 20 January 2001. p. 25.
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48. (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
49. "British single certifications – Ronan Keating – Life Is a Rollercoaster". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 May 2021.