Ronan told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column of his upcoming projects: "I have got an album in November and a tour in January, February and March. It's a concept record.

"Indirectly Ed has done something on the new album but I can't tell you any more at this stage.

"He played ­guitar on the last one on a couple of songs."

'Twenty Twenty' saw the 'Life Is A Rollercoaster' hitmaker dip his toes into country, as he joined forces with Australian actress-and-singer Clare Bowen - who is best known for her role as Scarlett O'Connor in the ABC/CMT musical-drama television series 'Nashville' - on the duet 'Love Will Remain'.

The collaboration came about as Ronan's model wife Storm is a massive fan of 'Nashville' and so he decided to DM Clare, who he hailed as having a "Dolly Parton-esque tweak" to her vocal, on social media to see if she would be up for the job.

The 44-year-old star said at the time: "The song was hands down a duet from the minute it was written. My wife Storm and I love the TV series 'Nashville' and I thought that Clare Bowen who plays one of the leads in the show would be a perfect fit for this track.

"We had chatted a bit on social media about collaborating, and then I realised that this was the song for her! She has a wonderfully fresh tone to her voice with a Dolly Parton-esque tweak, which was exactly what I wanted for the song."

Shania Twain, Robbie Williams, Emeli Sande and Nina Nesbitt also duetted with Ronan on the LP.

While he paid tribute to late Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately - who died in 2009, aged just 33 - on the emotional number 'The Big Goodbye'.