Recently, Alby in Year 10 appeared on The Voice Kids on ITV. He sat down with Miss Morgan to tell her about his experience.

What made you apply to the Voice Kids?

I didn’t apply myself, my Nan did it for me, she’s been really encouraging. I never would have done it, the idea of it was too scary, but once I was there I was fine. I’m glad I did it, I would do it again if I could. 

What did you have to do to get through to televised rounds?

There were 8-10 rounds before the ‘blind auditions’ that were televised. These were zoom call auditions, where the producers narrowed down 70,000 applicants to 40 overall. The last call back was in ITV studios in London, and we had to wait 3 weeks to find out whether we had got a blind audition - it was crazy!

How were you in these rounds? What was it like when you were selected?

They called my mum to tell her I had a blind audition, she was down the road at the time, she came running towards me to tell me - I was shocked, very happy though! A few weeks later, we had the first band rehearsals, I submitted in 3 songs prior to this, but they asked for 12 more! They had 5 days to decide what contestants’ sang. I originally wanted to sing ‘Turning Tables’ by Adele, but they chose ‘The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face’ - I didn’t even know the song when it was chosen! 

My favourite song was ‘Falling’ by Harry Styles, I was jealous because my best friend got to sing this!

Describe how it was working in the groups of other kids? How was it working with the mentors?

It was very fun! I’ll let you in on a little secret; the mentors weren’t really there! Danny came in the most out of all of them - he watched the rehearsals on his birthday, that was fun. Our actual mentors were our vocal coaches, they were so helpful and supportive. I loved being on stage, it always looks so glamorous on TV, but we were always so chilled, one time we were even in pyjamas, it was great. It was actually a year ago yesterday that we all met each other.

What was it like being in the semi final?

Honestly, you don’t really think about it, you just enjoy the experience as it goes along. I really loved the experience, it was good to do it with people I liked, I liked that I got to share it with my best friend. 

What have you learnt from being on The Voice Kids?

My confidence has skyrocketed, a lot thanks to the vocal coaches. I have kept in contact with one of them, as I sometimes have 1-1 singing lessons. Before working with them, I was scared to belt, but now I feel like I can do so much more. I didn’t get to show as much as I can do! I wish I’d known what I know now whilst I was on the Voice!

 

What are your ambitions now?

From the Voice Kids, I received lots of publicity. I am currently writing my own music, I like writing by myself, I’m very precise! I have a producer, we are actually shooting a music video in the coming months, and a photoshoot too! It’s very exciting.