The Voice star Jolan: I never expected to get picked
The Voice star Jolan: I never expected to get picked
By Freya Findlay
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Jolan Gidney-Craigen
A CUMBRIAN singer through to the finals of TV’s The Voice has revealed how his life has changed – and how Kaiser Chiefs frontman, Ricky Wilson, has boosted his confidence.
The fact that he is through to the finals of the prime-time BBC show has clearly not sunk in with Jolan Gidney-Craigen yet.
The 22-year-old, from Moor Row, Whitehaven, said: “You never expect to get this far.
“I didn’t expect to get a turn – it was just to come back to boost my profile.”
Jolan first auditioned for The Voice two years ago but none of the judges at the time turned their chairs for him – unlike this time, when stars Ricky Wilson, Paloma Faith and Boy George all wanted to work with him.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” said Jolan. “It’s a fantastic platform. I just felt like I wanted to come back – I’m glad I did.”
In the past week, Jolan quit his day job working in an office at Sellafield and moved to London to prepare for next week’s quarter finals.
He was shocked to get through to the finals after Ricky Wilson chose him during the knock out rounds.
“I was actually ready to go home. There’s so many great singers, I never expected Ricky to pick me,” he said.
Jolan originally chose Ricky as his mentor because he thought they would get on.
He is in contact with the Kaiser Chiefs frontman regularly, especially now that he has moved to London.
Jolan said: “I have always respected him as a performer and a person because he’s just down to earth. I was absolutely right - we get on really well. He’s so clever and his knowledge about music is phenomenal. He’s helped my confidence brilliantly.”
Watch Jolan's performances on The Voice (article continues below):
Although Jolan is used to performing – he started when he was 14 and has performed at weddings, pubs and festivals around Cumbria – he said Ricky has taken him to a new level.
He and Ricky have chosen the song he’ll perform at the quarter finals next Saturday but Jolan would not reveal what it is.
He said: “This song, I’m quite happy with. It will be different, I’ll say that.”
He’s very excited about the quarter finals - where audiences will be able to vote for their favourite contestants for the first time. Jolan is hoping all of Cumbria will get behind him.
He said: “It’s just exciting because this is massive now. Everything is bigger – the production is bigger, there’s dancers and it’s live.”
No matter what happens, Jolan said he is now committed to pursuing a music career.
“It’s life-changing and nothing’s even happened yet but it’s still life-changing because this is it. I definitely won’t be stopping. This is me now,” he said.
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