Two county Derry singers will be eager to take their fledgling music careers to new heights when they appear on RTÉ’s popular talent show ‘The Voice of Ireland’ in the coming weeks.
20 year-old Hannah Ferguson, from Maghera, and 34 year-old Marty Bonner, from Dungiven, both hope they can wow judges, Kian Egan, Una Foden, Rachel Stevens and Bressie with their vocals in series five of the hit programme which retuned to our screens on Sunday evening.
Hannah, a past pupil of St Patrick’s College, Maghera, is no stranger to the stage.
Back in April 2014, she claimed an All-Ireland Scór solo singing title when she represented her club, Watty Grahams, Glen.
Since then she has established her own fan base across the county but she applied for the show with one goal in mind- to get her name ‘out there’.
Hannah, who is studying drama with music at the University of Ulster, Magee described the experience as ‘unbelievable’.
She said: “I had always wanted to go on a reality show like ‘The Voice’ when I was younger but then I decided to focus on my education. When mummy saw that applications for this year’s competition had opened, I realised this could be my only opportunity so I just decided to go for it.”
Speaking about the audition, Hannah said she had ‘never felt nerves like it’.
She said: “I don’t normally get nervous but going into the audition, I was so nervous. I have never felt nerves like it. The fact that I was singing for four famous people was a really weird experience but then when I got to meet them, they were so normal, so that eased my nerves.
“My main goal going into the audition was exposure, I just want to get my name out there but the whole experience has been unbelievable,” said Hannah.
Dungiven man Marty Bonner is also hoping that he can land the top prize of a record deal with Universal Music.
Marty is a member of classic rock band, ‘Bad Penny’ and two-piece band ‘South Paw’.
He has always had a passion for music having studied music production.
However he is now in the process of opening a recording studio in Ebrington Square in Derry along with his former class mates.
Marty told Derrynow.com that he got a ‘great buzz’ from auditioning on the show.
“I have watched the show and I was confident that I could do it but it was my brother who persuaded me to actually apply.
“Auditioning was a great experience. I was nervous but I got a great buzz out if it. It’s definitely not something that I will not forget in a hurry,” he said.
‘The Voice of Ireland’ is on RTÉ One on Sunday evenings at 6.30pm.
Both Hannah’s and Marty’s audition will be televised in the coming weeks.
If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 07825 711978. Or you can email john.gill@derrynews.net at any time.