The Script star Danny O’Donoghue says the band always come through ‘bigger, better and stronger’

In Dublin, they premiered a new song called Dare You To Doubt Me, which received a rapturous reception on the night and resulted in fans flooding the band’s social media account to ask when the track would be available to download.

This week, Dare You To Doubt Me was finally released. The power of positivity that surges through The Script’s lyrics is a huge part of their appeal, and this song is another inspirational one.

The Script’s message is simple: if someone doubts you, don’t be disheartened - stay determined, do your best, and you’ll prove them wrong. It’s set to music which is just as uplifting, with Danny O’Donoghue’s soaring hook and feelgood flow complemented by rousing trumpets and sparkling piano.

Danny says: “With everything going on in the world we want to spread a positive message that no matter how hard things are, we’ll all come out the other end bigger, better and stronger. Don’t think so? Well, I dare you to doubt me!”

Danny and bandmate Mark Sheehan wrote Dare You To Doubt Me around the opening days of this summer’s arena tour, with co-writers and collaborators Jimbo Barry and David Lucius King, as well as Toby Gad, the songwriter behind John Legend’s All Of Me, Beyoncé’s If I Were A Boy. It was subsequently produced by Jimbo Barry, Danny and Mark.

Fans have always lapped up The Script’s positive messages in their songs. “Our fanbase is one of the most loyal that you’ll every get out there, but I feel like we haven’t changed too much with the times either,” Danny reflects.

“We’ve always stuck to our own style of music, just trying to explain what’s going on in our life. I feel like we have this almost cult following of people who absolutely adore this band. They love what we stand for.

“We have a family called ‘The Script family’, who I class as family because they’ve been through the whole journey with us and the events in our lives, from the deaths of parents to the births of children. They know us inside out.”

Danny says that working on new songs in the studio is like a religion to him. “It’s pretty much what I do every day,” he reveals. “I play piano, play guitar and just sit there looking at the sky and waiting for magic to happen. My method of how much I believe in it really does work.”

Danny tells how he found the perfect writing partner in band member Mark Sheehan. “Myself and Mark share the songwriting responsibilities,” he says. “I really enjoy what Mark does as a writer. And I feel privileged that I get the opportunity to work with somebody that even if we had never met and he wasn’t in this band I would be playing his records today. I’m such a fan of what he does and I really respect him as a lyricist, and hopefully vice versa.”

Songwriting, Danny says, has helped him to deal with his personal issues through the years and to get a good perspective on his life. “As an artist I try to get out what’s inside me,” he explains. “The method is being open, being free and being a conduit to whatever it is that’s going on at the time.”

Danny added that he finally found peace in his life during the pandemic in the lockdowns. “I no longer have FOMO (fear of missing out),” he says. “I caught up with a lot of people who really matter and the people who really count. Because at the end of the day who else was there for you during Covid but the people you loved.”

- THE Script’s new single, Dare You To Doubt Me, is out now