The Voice UK ‘just the beginning’ for NI singer Jonny Brooks
Northern Ireland talent Jonny Brooks has described his time on The Voice as ‘incredible’ after he narrowly missed out winning the final on Saturday.
The Castledawson singer was competing alongside another County Londonderry talent Brooke Scullion, who was knocked out after performing two songs on the night.
Jonny was left vying with Blessing Chitapa for the top prize and he gave it his all. He sang the Natalie Imbruglia hit Torn, as well as taking to the stage with Sir Tom Jones for a duet.
"On Saturday night I came off the stage thinking I probably couldn't have done any more," he told UTV News.
"So there was no regrets there to be honest, the duet was incredible, I'm still sort of pinching myself over that one and I think I will be for a while. It certainly doesn't feel like a loss, put it that way.”
The 30-year-old singer, whose day job is at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, had battled his way through the competition right to the end. The final had been delayed because of Covid and the restrictions meant there was only a virtual audience watching.
"The most noticeable thing for me was the noise, there wasn't as much noise as there was in the live show," he explained.
"But you still look up when you're singing and you see all the families and the faces, and the people who would have been the crowd on all these different screens so there is definitely a feeling of, togetherness I think that a gig brings."
He may have missed out on that record deal but Jonny says it has made him as determined as ever to pursue his music dream.
"I would certainly like to put my own album out, at some point. I certainly hope it's the beginning and not the end. It's given me a new focus on it and a new drive for so I'm just going to keep plugging everywhere I can, keep her lit as they say over here."