The Kings of Easy Listening, The Script, are back with their seventh album Satellites this month, their first batch of new music since the tragic death of band co-founder Mark Sheehan who passed away after an illness last year. Will Satellites become the Irish crooners’ sixth No 1 album? Well, that’s not the question we’re answering here. Instead, it’s time to rank the band’s 25 (25!) singles…

25. Dare You to Doubt Me

A non-album single, presumably because no album wanted to be associated with this mess. I happily doubt that anyone thinks this is a good song.

24. Run Through Walls

There were so many better songs than this that The Script could have chosen to follow up The Last Time (Hurt People, Hurt People or Something Unreal would get my vote). This is such a cringe song lyrically and melody-wise. Danny O’Donoghue’s vocals are normally flawless but he sounds terribly autotuned in the chorus of this song, not dissimilar to an injured cat sadly. It seems a shame that songs about personal tragedies in the band members’ lives sound like this; it isn’t just a badly performing single in this list, it’s a bad song.

23. I Want it All

I Want it All comes from the band’s greatest hits compilation released in 2021. It’s all a bit meh, they needn’t have bothered, the actual hits sufficed.

Go listen to Queen’s I Want it All or better still Sharpay and Ryan’s I Want it All from High School Musical.

22. If You Could See Me Now

If You Could See Me Now comes from the band’s third album, the creatively named #3 which is a collection of downer songs. Following the success of their noticeably cheerier second album the band aimed to go back to the moodier, gloomier vibes of their debut only to miss the target by a long shot, offering up a collection of downright depressing tunes. This song, written about the death of Danny O’Donoghue’s father and the death of both of Mark Sheehan’s parents, isn’t even the gloomiest tune. For what it’s worth, the song is much better when performed live, finding a gear that was absent from the studio version.

It’s no wonder #3 is (so far) the only The Script album not to reach number one in the UK charts, coming in at a stingy No. 2.  

21. Rain

This song went platinum. Rain marks an odd era for The Script, their fifth album Freedom Child was a bit of an experiment, a departure from their usual style that leans more into…R&B? Reggaeton? Synth pop? Hard to say, they don’t quite manage to nail any of the genres they attempt and the best songs on that overinflated album (14 tracks whew) are the ones that sound more quintessentially The Script (angsty, wannabe poet lyrics, great hooks).

Still, the album went to No 1 in the UK so what do I know?

20. Arms Open

A stripped back tune from Freedom Child that only managed to chart in the Netherlands. Ordinarily you’d think this ‘Scripty’ song would have been the lead single of an album campaign but Rain stole that crown…and the thunder, this better song is largely forgotten.

19. Both Ways

The first single from the band’s 2024 album Satellites, and the first following the death of Mark Sheehan which has resulted in the band forging forward as a four piece with a new bassist and guitarist joining (both called Ben and no, I don’t know who is who, sorry). You wouldn’t know this is the lead single, the follow up At Your Feet has garnered considerably more airtime. This sounds like a Freedom Child reject and given the resounding averageness of that album, it isn’t a ringing endorsement. To be fair, it could be a grower, it’s a lot better than some of the band’s more recent outputs (looking at you, Dare You to Doubt Me).

18. Freedom Child

I had no idea this was a single. Freedom Child is one the better songs from the eponymous fifth album but is it really single worthy? It failed to chart anywhere so maybe we can just pretend it never happened.

17. Superheroes

A poor man’s Hall of Fame.

16. Six Degrees of Separation

This is a perfectly fine, enjoyable ballad from the band’s misery-fest that is #3. Sadly however, it’s just not that memorable.

15. Millionaires

This mid-tempo, easy listening pop ballad is one of the most euphoric tracks on #3. And by euphoric I of course, mean – mild head-bob inducing. I don’t hate it, but it’s a bit of a let-down, particularly after the solid middle eight that hints at a big final chorus but doesn’t deliver.

14. At Your Feet

Okay, this song is brand new so it might not get the fairest of treatments here. There’s a lot to like about it – it is after all, very The Script – but what is with the chorus? Why does it sound like a bum note is being hit over and over. A real shame considering the bridge that leads to it which is solid.

13. Before the Worst

Another gem from the first album that was deigned to chart mediocrity. The verses of this song are great; punchy, descriptive and evoking that first album sadness that works so well. It falls a little behind the other singles from the first album for its snoozy middle eight that kills some of the track’s momentum.

12. We Cry

The single that started it all isn’t actually all that well known and not a constant feature of their repertoire. Which is a shame because it’s a great song. Moody, gloomy (but not in the #3 sense) and painting an uncomfortable if not relatable picture, We Cry is an underrated single and a gem amongst the band’s early catalogue.

11. For the First Time

For the First Time is easily the weakest song on The Script’s second album Science & Faith, which is why it seems unfair that it ended up being the biggest hit from that period in the band’s history – and in fact, one their most well-known songs of all. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the song but it’s really just a bit meh, especially when you think about the other songs on that second album. Still, it’s a bit of a fan favourite so it must be doing something right.

10. Science & Faith

The title track from the band’s second album failed to chart anywhere (was it ever really a single? Hard to say, but apparently so) but that doesn’t mean it’s not a banger. The lyrics are corny – but most of The Scripts lyrics are, and they get progressively worse! – but it is saved by its opening guitar riff, melodic bridges and nice lil’ key change during the final chorus.

9. Hall of Fame feat. will.i.am

(Honestly, I forgot will.i.am was even on this track) Hall of Fame was massive for The Script. Released in 2012 on the back of frontman Danny O’Donoghue’s stint as a judge on The Voice UK alongside Mr i.am and at what might be considered the height of the band’s fame, Hall of Fame was everywhere that year. Any advert, documentary, or X-Factor sob-story montage that was even remotely related to fame, success or the history books was accompanied by this song. It helped (or didn’t depending on your perspective) that the London Olympics were that year. and the nation was in the mood for celebrating hall of fame-esque achievements. The band’s first UK No 1 certainly captures a zeitgeist despite not being the greatest of songs.

8. If You Ever Come Back

Another song that should have stayed an album track to spare it the chart-shame it received (‘peaking’ at 115 in the UK), If You Ever Come Back is the epitome of the Science & Faith era of The Script; chatty verses, sadness tinged with hope, a glorious use of falsetto in the bridge and a euphoric final chorus. Effortlessly good.

7. Nothing

The second single from The Script’s second album, Nothing is by far a much better song that For the First Time but didn’t get the love when it came to chart performance. Nothing is a proper bridge between the band’s first and second albums, retaining some of the woe that typifies The Script but with a bit more of the warmth and hopefulness of Science & Faith. Its middle eight is one of the band’s best and the track is not dissimilar to Man on a Wire which came out five years later (another underrated single). ‘Fun’ fact – the band frequently performs this song down the phone of an audience member who they request ring up an ex so that they can deem the ex to be ‘nothing’.

6. Man on a Wire

The singles from No Sound Without Silence are all such a step up in form following their output during the #3 era (except maybe Superheroes which just rips off their own song). Man on a Wire is no exception. Easy listening is what The Script do best and this is an easy listening masterpiece – lyrics that, by their standards, aren’t too corny, great bridges between the verses and chorus, wonderful middle eight and great production throughout (don’t you just love hearing strings on a pop track?), what’s not to like?

5. Talk You Down

Back in the mid-00s artists had a habit of releasing two or three ‘legitimate’ singles that would be heavily promoted to coincide with an album (how many iconic 00s bands did you catch on GMTV before school? Right!) and then, another couple of ‘other’ singles would be released that barely received any airtime both from promoters and the artists themselves. Of course, this was before the advent of Spotify and other streaming services and so there was more of a need for artists to keep feeding music into the stratosphere during that dead time between album launch and tour. Talk You Down suffers this treatment, unfairly so, it’s a great song that doesn’t deserve such a miserable chart history (peaking at 47 in the UK) – perhaps it should have remained an album deep cut.

4. The Last Time

Better than For the First Time, that’s for sure. This song came out in 2019 as the lead single from the band’s sixth album Sunsets & Full Moons. It was a welcome return to form following the experimental style of Freedom Child and yet remains a largely forgotten single (let’s blame Covid which led to them having to reschedule their accompanying tour). It was probably the most ‘The Script’ song since No Good in Goodbye five years prior (and almost as good).

3. No Good in Goodbye

The second single from the band’s fourth album No Sound Without Silence is an underrated piece of pop/soft rock magic. The zippy guitar intro is reminiscent of one of their greatest songs You Won’t Feel a Thing (not a single but the opening track on Science & Faith), the lyrics are…well they’re still cheesy but in the best possible way, the middle eight is gorgeous and really builds into the crescendo of a final chorus. Like everything else good on No Sound Without Silence, No Good in Goodbye manages to capture the gorgeous anthem-style tunes of The Script’s second album and combine it with the slight sadness of the first album in a way that they never managed to achieve on #3. This song deserves so much more love.

2. The Man Who Can’t be Moved

Possibly the band’s most famous song, The Man Who Can’t be Moved might be entering Wonderwall territory when it comes to songs to be (reluctantly) sung around campfires or uni halls parties but that doesn’t stop it being an excellent tune. The Script’s early singles tended to have a melancholic air to them before they shifted towards more happy-go-lucky, affirmative anthems (proof that gloom doesn’t always equal doom) and The Man Who Can’t be Moved might just be the most melancholic of all…it’s wonderful.

1. Breakeven

Another one from their debut album, Breakeven is undoubtedly the best single The Script has ever produced. A perfect blend of the two styles the band is best known for; euphoric, stadium pop and unabashed, unashamed melancholy – there’s no way you listen to this without singing (or trying to sing) the falsetto in the chorus.

Breakeven deserved more love in the charts, failing to break the top 20 in the UK and only reaching number 10 in their homeland where their previous singles We Cry and The Man Who Can’t be Moved reached numbers 9 and 2 respectively. Perhaps surprisingly (but not really, the song is fantastic) Breakeven reached number 12 in the US and remains the band’s highest charting single stateside.

Mediocre chart performance aside – let’s face it, The Script have always been an ‘albums’ band – no setlist is complete without a rendition of Breakeven.