Brian Kennedy is up against Ryan O'Shaughnessy on The Hit tonight and we can expect our fair share of drama when the pair face off, according to co presenter Nicky Byrne.

It would seem the pressure got too much for Kennedy, Byrne revealed on 2fm's Breakfast with Hector Show. 'Tonight's [show] is even more exciting...this week we've got Ryan O'Shaughnessy versus Brian Kennedy. Brian has a little bit of a melt-down,' he said, 'These artists, obviously they signed up to this TV show...but when they get on the floor, like anything and when I'm, as a host, telling them they're about to go into these pitching rooms to pick their next single out of six songs, the penny started to drop I think with a lot of them. You could see fear in their eyes and Brian I think went in and out of the rooms and I think he just panicked. He just came back and said: 'I don't know what to do, I can't hear anything [I can use].'

RTE One's The Hit kicked off last week and will see songwriters showcase their songs to established artists, who then battle it out to find the perfect song. Kennedy spoke out about why he wanted to be part of the show,' They have clearly really thought about things. I was lucky enough to have seen the pilot show last year with Brian McFadden and Royseven, so I remembered instantly and thought I would love to do that show.

'So I was thrilled to be able to do it and it is all leading up to tonight's performance, I think people are going to be in for a great surprise. Speaking about what he was hoping to find from a potential winner Kennedy said, 'Well certainly I wanted to hear a song that would fit in terms of the constellation of my own catalogue and in terms of if I am going to do a live show, where would this song fit. I wanted it to be something new, something developed, something further down the line that's not too different to what I have been doing before. 

The first winner was also announced earlier today. Alice Lynskey's 'Run and Hide' which was performed by The Stunning was crowned the winner. The song came 6th in the Irish charts. The Hit returns tonight on RTE One at 9.35pm.