Fourteen-year-old Adam Moloney was a hit on last weekend’s The Voice Kids UK.
The St Patrick’s Comprehensive student was wanted by all three judges, will.i.am, Pixie Lott and Danny Jones, with Pixie and Danny turning their chairs within seconds and will.i.am eventually following their lead.
Roger then had his choice of judge and eventually opted for Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am, after the American spoke about his work with U2 to lure the Shannon singer.
Adam sang When You Love Someone by James TW.
His father Roger said that Adam hasn’t been too caught up in all the excitement following the broadcasting of the show, which was aired on ITV and TV3.
“He’s a really laid-back kid, to be honest with you. He’s just taking it in his stride. He loves his music. He was playing a gig last night in Limerick. He loves the feedback he’s getting off it. All he’s into is his hurling and music; they’re his two passions,” said Roger.
He added, “He’s a singer/songwriter. He has seven songs penned and has a CD out as well. He supported Aslan when they were in Thomond Park last year; he has played with the likes of Hermitage Green. He supported Paddy Dennehy at the Red Herring in Dolan’s Warehouse. He played at the Shannon Festival last year and they’ve given him another slot this year.”
Roger paid tribute to local woman Karen Barrett, saying it was her suggestion that Adam enter the competition.
Last week’s show was recorded about a month ago in London with Roger, his wife and several other family members travelling to support him.
On the show, Adam likened the appearance before the judges to lining out with Wolfe Tones in a big match. “If I can compare today to something, it’d be running out on the field for a county final hurling match; it’s very nerve-wrecking.”
In relation to dealing with nerves, the 14-year-old added, “People always tell me to turn nerves into positive energy and it just comes out way better.”
When he told will.i.am he had been playing the guitar for a mere two years, he replied, “You play it like you’ve been playing it 10 years”.
Judge Danny Jones of McFly said he was “really gutted” that Adam hadn’t chosen him.
After his performance, singer James TW endorsed the Shannon teenager’s version of his song, tweeting a link to a YouTube clip of it, with the comment ‘Nice job Adam!’. That was retweeted 219 times, while 1,510 people favourited it.
Irish website buzz.ie tweeted, “The 14-year-old was barely 10 seconds into his performance when two judges pressed their button. What a talent!” Lifestyle website her.ie tweeted “What a voice”. His school St Caimin’s Community School tweeted “Check out Adam Moloney’s incredible performance on last night’s The Voice Kids #2ndYear #ThoseChairsTurnedFast!”
By Owen Ryan
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.