A bricklayer by trade, Robbie Kennedy, a twenty-two-year-old from Cwmbran, South Wales, has been working for six years. He said that singing was merely a pastime, a newfound interest that he developed about four and a half years ago through self-study of guitar on YouTube. He lived at home with his parents and confessed that his longest gig up to this point was just thirty minutes at the neighborhood watering hole. His modest upbringing, honest character, and somewhat restrained manner gave him an air of unassuming simplicity that fooled the judges into thinking they were in for a simple, amateur performance.
Robbie started off his audition with a strong acoustic rendition of a song that displayed his astonishing and surprising singing abilities. His professional, crisp delivery of the notes stood in sharp contrast to his day work as a bricklayer; his voice was powerful, powerful, and deep. His powerful and emotionally profound singing immediately enchanted the judges. But then the song took an unexpected turn as the music stopped and he started singing “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Due to the extraordinary level of control and genuine emotion displayed throughout the performance of this second song, it became an immediate and resounding hit.
The magnitude of his talent and the dramatic change in his appearance astounded the judges. “Robbie, you are so likeable…” Alesha Dixon said. I’m speechless; you’ve been given a genuine talent. He would “absolutely knock them dead” when they saw the broadcast, Amanda Holden added, after understanding he never sung in front of his coworkers. “I wasn’t expecting that…,” Simon Cowell, the hardest critic, said, expressing his utmost admiration. My guess is that if you released that album, that song would be a smashing success. With four “yeses” and universal acclaim, Robbie demonstrated that his hobby would eventually supplant his career.
