Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan (; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. She was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist for the alternative rock bandthe Cranberries. O’Riordan had one of the most recognisable female voices in rock in the 1990s. She was known for her lilting mezzo-soprano voice, signature yodel, emphasized use of keening, and strong Limerick accent. With the Cranberries, she is regarded to have written “some of the most seminal songs in music history”.
O’Riordan was born in Limerick, Ireland, to a Catholic working-class family. She began to perform as a soloist in her church choir before leaving secondary school to join the Cranberries in 1990. Recognised for her “unique voice” and uncompromising artistry, she achieved worldwide fame quickly. During her lifetime, she released seven studio albums with the Cranberries, including four number-one albums. Over the years, she contributed to the release of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We (1993), No Need to Argue (1994), To the Faithful Departed (1996), Bury the Hatchet (1999), and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001) before taking a six-year hiatus starting in 2003.
O’Riordan’s first solo album, Are You Listening , was released in May 2007 and was followed up by No Baggage in August 2009. She reunited with the Cranberries the same year, and the band released Roses (2012) and went on a world tour. She appeared as a judge on RT ‘s The Voice of Ireland during the 2013-14 season. In April 2014, O’Riordan joined and began recording new material with the trio D.A.R.K. Throughout her life, she had to overcome personal challenges, struggling with depression and the pressure of her own success, finally being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015. She subsequently released her last album with the group, Something Else (2017).
O’Riordan died by drowning due to alcohol intoxication in January 2018. The following year, the Cranberries released the Grammy-nominated album In the End (2019), featuring her final vocal recordings, and subsequently disbanded. With the Cranberries, O’Riordan sold more than 40 million albums worldwide during her life; that total increased to almost 50 million albums worldwide as of 2019, excluding her solo albums. In the US, she was awarded fourteen platinum album certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and in Canada, ten platinum certifications. In the UK she received five platinum certifications. She was honored with the Ivor Novello International Achievement award, and in the months following her death, she was named “The Top Female Artist of All Time” on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.