Model singer Nerissa impresses on '˜The Voice of Ireland'

This was the reality for a Killea singer Nerissa Moore who appeared in front of the whole country on RTE TV show ‘The Voice of Ireland’ on Sunday night.

While the thought of it would make anyone nervous, the 24-year-old had no reason to be as she blew everyone away with her rendition of the classic ‘Electric Feel.’

In fact, she impressed the show’s judge Bressie so much that he chose her to be part of his team of contestants going forward.

The idea behind ‘The Voice’ is that contestants sing on stage while the judges - in this case Bressie, Westlife’s Kian Egan, Una Healy from The Saturdays and Rachel Stevens from S Club 7 - sit with their backs to the performer. As they don’t see the singer, the programme is all about ‘the voice.’ If the judge likes what they hear, they turn the chair around.

Speaking to the ‘Journal’ Nerissa revealed that not only has she never performed professionally before, she had never stood on any stage until her ‘blind’ audition, which was filmed two months ago.

She said: “I saw the application form online and thought: ‘I’m going to go for this.’ I’ve never performed professionally or on stage but I’ve always liked singing and had a real interest in it. So, the very first time I was on stage was what everyone saw on TV.”

Nerissa admits she was “very nervous,” especially when the music began.

“I did think: ‘Oh my God, what am I doing here?’ It was weird at the beginning singing to the judges who had their backs to you. But, I wasn’t even thinking about the judges turning around and was starting to enjoy it. I was delighted when Bressie turned around.”

Nerissa said that while she initially thought she would like to work with Una, she now realises she is better suited to Bressie as they have “very similar tastes” in music.

She added that while she “likes everything from country music to dance” she chose ‘Electric Feel’ as it’s a song she loved when she was younger.

Nerissa was joined in Dublin on the day by her boyfriend Shaun O’Hara, who she lives with in Letterkenny and her two siblings.

As well as singing, Nerissa also works in ‘Argento’ in Derry’s Richmond Centre and is signed to the CMPR Model Agency in Belfast and the Morgan Model Agency in Dublin.

While she’s sworn to secrecy about what’s next for her in the show, we’ll next see her on TV in the ‘Battle Round’ where, she said, she “went hell for leather.”

She watched Sunday night’s show in Killea with her family, something she described as “great but uncomfortable!”

She laughed as she recalled how everyone’s “nerves were wrecked” when they sat down to watch the show, as she wasn’t sure when she would appear.

“I felt like it all went really fast,” she said.

“I don’t even remembering answering some of the questions they asked me. It was a bit surreal to watch but I’ve just been overwhelmed with the support and responses since I was on. It’s just great.”

If you missed Nerissa’s performance on the show, you can still watch it on RTE Player.