[supernoodles!]

I found this info about his career

LOUIS Walsh is the undisputed king of the Irish pop scene. He is the man behind some of the most successful bands in pop history, masterminding the careers of Boyzone, Westlife, Samantha Mumba and Girls Aloud.

The fact that he has achieved a staggering 27 number one hits is a testament to his success and is one of the reasons why Louis Walsh is one of the most respected names in the music industry today.

Louis has always been passionate about music. His first taste of success came when he spotted the talents of an artist called Johnny Logan. Louis was convinced that Logan could be a big hit if he was given the right break and persuaded him to sing at The Eurovision Song Contest.

Louis' gamble paid off and in 1980 Johnny Logan won the 25th Eurovision Song Contest in front of 500 million TV viewers. Logan's first album sold half a million copies within three days of its release, catapulting Logan to number one in eleven European countries. With a number one artist already under his belt, Louis was ready for his next challenge.

Relying on his instincts, Louis knew that his next hit would be with a band to rival the success of Take That. The papers picked up on the story and news of an audition was soon the talk of Dublin.

A series of auditions followed and five unknown artists were plucked from obscurity. Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham made up the band and Boyzone was born.

Boyzone

Louis' hunch was right: under his management, Boyzone went on to be one of the most successful boy bands ever. They achieved 16 top three singles, six of which were number ones and four number one albums, selling over 12 million copies worldwide.

When Ronan Keating announced he wanted to take a break from Boyzone, Louis continued to manage his career, helping him to score a number one hit with Life is a Rollercoaster in 2000. Ronan's solo album shot to number one and a further two hit singles were released from the album, which went on to sell over 4.4 million copies.

Boyzone is not the only success Louis has had with an all-Irish band. His next discovery, Westlife were a hit from the start. Record companies were literally falling over themselves to sign the band and in 1998 Simon Cowell of RCA signed them up in a multi-million pound deal.

Their first single 'Swear it Again' reached number one in the UK charts and their next 6 singles all followed suit. The group currently hold the record for achieving the most consecutive number 1 singles. Under Louis' guidance, Westlife have accumulated an overwhelming 13 UK Number ones, selling 32 million records to date.

In 2001, Louis made his first foray into television on the Irish version of Popstars. The show made Louis a household name in Ireland.

Popstars

The following year, Louis appeared as a judge on Popstars: The Rivals, along with Pete Waterman and Geri Halliwell. Louis went head to head with Pete Waterman on the show, with his all girl band Girls Aloud battling it out with Pete's boy band, One True Voice.

Girls Aloud won hands down and their debut single achieved the coveted UK Christmas number one. Louis continues to manage the group, who went on to achieve a million single sales while their debut album went platinum.