When 19-year-old Dolores O'Riordan auditioned for the role of lead singer for the Irish group The Cranberry Saw Us, the pop adult contemporary group the Cranberries emerged.As the voice of the Cranberries, O'Riordan was born in Co. Limberick, Ireland and joined The Cranberry Saw Us in 1990. After changing their name to the Cranberries, the group, which consisted of lead and bass guitarist Noel and Mike Hogan and drummer Feargal Lawler, immediately started performing around the Irish countryside and gained a loyal fan base that stuck with them for 13 years. As the group started getting attention both commercially and critically, and just as O'Riordan was finishing her final year in school, The Cranberries signed a six album record contract with Island Records. Their manager, Pearse Gilmore, who met the group while recording their demo tapes at Xeric Studios, had signed a deal with Island Records to improve on his studios. Almost breaking up, the musicians decided that instead they would fire their traitor manager and hired Geoff Travis.The Cranberries started touring across the UK while recording in the studio. But they had trouble with getting the headlines they desired, so they hired The Smiths producer, Stephen Street, to help with the production of their 1993 debut album Everyone is Doing It, So Why Can't We? With the help of O'Riordan's soft voice and the group's poppy hooks, the album sold over seven million copies after seven years, mostly in part to large radio play in the US. From there, the Cranberries were unstoppable, selling out worldwide tours, creating four more successful albums and topping the charts in both the UK and the United States. After the 13-year-long run with the Cranberries, the group split in 2001 leaving room for solo projects for the musicians.