Rosa wows judges on ‘The Voice Kids’

A talented young Derry singer has made it through to the battle rounds of ‘The Voice Kids’ after she impressed the coaches on Saturday night.
The Voice Kids: SR3: Ep2 on ITV  Pictured: Rosa chooses Team Will.The Voice Kids: SR3: Ep2 on ITV  Pictured: Rosa chooses Team Will.
The Voice Kids: SR3: Ep2 on ITV Pictured: Rosa chooses Team Will.

Thornhill College student Rosa O’Reilly impressed coach Will.I.Am with her rendition of Shakira’s World Cup anthem ‘Waka Waka’ (This Time For Africa) during the blind audition.

The bubbly 12-years-old told the ‘Journal’ about her experience on the show.

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“All of my friends have been really excited about it and have been asking me what the ‘battles’ are like, but I can’t tell them yet,” she said.

“Everyone is really happy for me and happy about it.”

In addition to her singing, Rosa has played piano, violin and the cello from a young age.

“I started playing piano when I was four and a half, as well as singing and doing drama. I started playing the cello when I was eight and the violin when I was seven. I love all music and drama,” she added.

The talented youngster said her experience on the TV talent show was ‘amazing.’

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“The whole experience was amazing. I got to meet the coaches, Will.I.Am, Jessie J, Pixie Lott and Danny Jones. It was just amazing, and I loved singing my song on stage.

“I didn’t actually choose the song, the producers chose the song. It’s not the type of song I would usually sing, but it was so much fun to perform. I enjoyed singing it because it’s a World Cup anthem song and it’s really well known.

“I usually do a lot of musical theatre, a bit of jazz and a lot of ballads,” she declared.

Coach and ‘Black Eyed Peas’ star Will.I.Am turned his chair during the blind audition for Rosa and she said that he was the coach she wanted to choose.

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“Will is very creative and he’s a very fun person. He’s sort of the same as me, because he likes to write as a rapper. He basically writes poetry and turns it into a rap. I write a lot of poetry and songs as well,” she said.

‘Shakira’ also had high praise for the local singer. Tweeting a link of Rosa’s performance to her 51million followers she said: “Yeah, that was amazing! So cute.”

Rosa made the judges laugh by telling them about her rehearsal technique - singing to the cows beside her auntie Siobhan’s house! “I’ll keep practising for the cows. They are a really good audience, you can just blast it out to them” she joked.

Mum Cathy also had high praise for their whole experience on ‘The Voice Kids.’

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“From start to finish it has been such a positive experience. I was apprehensive at the start, but the team reassured me going through the process.

“It was so positive, really enjoyable. They took brilliant care of Rosa, myself and other members of my family who attended. We were treated like popstars, it was great!

“On Saturday evening we went to my nephew Keith’s (Harkin of ‘Celtic Thunder’) house on Inch Island as family and friends gathered together to watch the show there.

“I’m very proud of Rosa, trying to keep up with her is almost impossible, but she loves it all,” added Cathy.

Rosa O’Reilly will appear again in the ‘Battles’ round of ‘The Voice Kids’ which will air later in the series.

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