KEATING TRIES TO CUT IT IN AMERICA WITH NEW TEETH
New front teeth: Ronan Keating has followed advice that a perfect smile is essential to conquer the lucrative market in America, where he will release a new single next month HE cut his teeth in Boyzone. Now Ronan Keating, the fresh-faced pop star, has spent up to £19,000 having them fixed to win over America. The 24-year-old singer, who releases his first solo single in the United States next month, has succumbed to pressure from his record company to have his crooked front teeth capped. He was told that the perfect smile was essential to conquer the lucrative American market. Keating is hoping to succeed where Robbie Williams and Oasis failed before - breaking into the notoriously difficult market. The singer will spend four months there in the summer promoting his single, Lovin' Each Day, and album, Ronan. His blonde hair and school-boy looks are likely to help him in his bid to win over America, as will his Irish nationality. But those assets would probably have been eclipsed by dental imperfections in a country that cherishes the perfect smile above all. Yesterday he flashed his new set of teeth on BBC's Live & Kicking children's television show. His British tour manager refused to comment as they left the studios. Dr Anthony Newbury, of Harley Street Cosmetic Dentistry, said Keating would find it hard to succeed in a market alongside artists with Colgate smiles such as Britney Spears. Without having his teeth fixed, that is. "Americans would think that he didn't care enough about himself," said Newbury, who has fixed the teeth of many celebrities. "They would consider him less attractive. He's got to go up against all the good-looking attractive people with great wide smiles. A good set of straight, white teeth is extremely important in America." Keating had his top teeth capped a month ago, most likely with porcelain veneers. The process involves taking a fine layer off the surface of each tooth, putting on temporary teeth and then a week later bonding translucent porcelain to the tooth surface. The treatment can cost between £7,500-£15,000 in Britain and $20,000-$50,000 in America to have the top set done. Keating's task in wooing America will be made all the harder by the fact that few people there have ever heard of him. Despite Boyzone's success around the world, the boy band failed to crack America despite several attempts. The singer is also revamping his sartorial style to make him more attractive to American record buyers. The £300,000 video for his new single was shot in the desert in California last month and looks and sounds very American. His image as a modern James Dean is tougher than his previous squeaky clean image. Kitted out in jeans and a white T-shirt, it shows him playing around with Harley-Davidson motorbikes. Keating worked with American producers when recording his album in California last year, and his music is being marketed as pop with an edge similar to that of Bryan Adams. Rebecca Mostow, Keating's American manager, said that audiences for test screenings of the video assumed Keating was American. "People can relate to him and you can see in his smile how mischievous he is," she said. The singer is not the first to have suffered the dentist's drill for his art. Other celebrities who have had their teeth fixed include Martine McCutcheon, the actress and singer, Noel Gallagher, the Oasis guitarist, and David Bowie. Martin Amis, the British author, paid £20,000 to have his teeth corrected in America. Striking a fresh and minty pose is also popular among Europe's politicians. Some years before he made his bid to become leader of the Austrian Freedom party, Jörg Haider had his teeth "fixed". So did Margaret Thatcher during her early years as Conservative leader, as well as lowering her voice and changing her hairstyle. She was not alone. Celebrity cosmetic dentistry is often complemented by other "enhancements". Along with spending £2,000 on breast implants, the late Paula Yates said she also had her teeth fixed because she didn't consider her original set to be good enough for her television appearances.
