Cranberries Lead Singer Dolores O'Riordan Passes Away At 46
There's some sad news coming out of the music world today. Dolores O'Riordan, best known as the lead singer for the rock band The Cranberries, has died at the age of 46.
The Irish singer and her bandmates garnered international success in the 90s with their chart-topping hits, including "Zombie," "Linger," and "Ode to My Family."
The Cranberries were considerably less popular towards the end of the decade, and in 2003, they disbanded. Six years later, the band announced that they were reuniting, and had an album as well as a tour in the works. They have since released two albums, including "Something Else," which made its debut in April 2017.
The band embarked on an international tour shortly after, but unfortunately, once the European leg ended, they were forced to cancel the remaining dates citing O'Riordan's health issues as a reason.
The singer's health continued to decline since, but she recently took to Facebook to let fans know that she is "feeling good" and that she was already back to performing gigs.
"Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good!," she wrote on December 20th. "I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band. Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo"
Sadly, less than a month later, a rep for O'Riordan announced her sudden death.
O'Riordan's publicist shared the sad news in a statement, but it's unclear if her death is related to the health problems she had been experiencing.
"The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries was in London for a short recording session," read the statement. No further details are available at this time."
It added, "Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."
O'Riordan's bandmates have yet to comment on the news, but tributes from other celebrities and musicans have already began to pour in.
Fellow Irish rock band Kodaline were among the first to take to Twitter to express their shock over the news.
"Absolutely shocked to hear about the passing of Dolores O'Riordan!" read the tweet. " @The_Cranberries gave us our first big support when we toured with them around France years ago! Thoughts are with her family and friends."
O'Riordan is survived by her ex-husband Don Burton and her three children, Taylor Baxter, Molly Leigh and Dakota Rain.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this very difficult time.