Flood of good wishes from new fans as Fr Ray is voted out of TV’s BGT
BRITAIN’S Got Talent singing star Fr Ray Kelly has received a flood of good wishes and support across Ireland and Britain after being knocked out of the hit television show.
In a Facebook post, the singing cleric from Meath thanked fans for the messages of support he received throughout the competition. ‘I can only say that, for myself, the messages and emails I have received from strangers who, in their despair, have been touched by my singing and have found hope has been extraordinary,’ he wrote yesterday.
‘To touch people’s lives with my singing is indeed a privilege in my ministry. To make a difference through a talent I enjoy so much is a very special bonus.’
Many fans responded to the message telling the priest that he had won them over, regardless of the outcome of the competition.
Bernadette Horan tweeted that the priest was ‘by far the best act’ on the night, while Imelda McCormack wrote that the singer was ‘a winner in our eyes’.
The Co. Meath parish priest took part in the semi-final stage this weekend with his rendition of Vince Gill’s Go Rest High On That Mountain. In an emotional exchange, the 65-year-old told judges that he liked to sing the song in memory of his sister Regina, who died from oesophageal cancer in 2016.
The priest, pictured, first stunned judges in the audition stage with his rendition of R.E.M.’s Everybody Hurts, leaving even Simon Cowell saying it had been one of his favourite auditions ever.
Despite praise across the board from all judges in the semi-final, Fr Kelly lost out in the public vote on Friday to decide who went into last night’s final, which was won by comedian Lee Ridley, better know by his stage name of Lost Voice Guy.
The 37-year-old, who is unable to speak, uses a voice synthesiser to perform his comic routines.
Fr Kelly rose to prominence in 2014 when a video of him singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah went viral.
In an interview with the Irish Daily Mail at the weekend, Fr Ray revealed how it happened.
‘It was a wedding here in my church and the couple didn’t actually ask me to sing. I said to them, “I might sing an oul’ song for you”, and they looked at each other as if to say, “Is he off his rocker?” They went off to Mexico on honeymoon and sent me an email to say thanks for the ceremony and for singing.
‘Then they said, “By the way, it’s up on YouTube”. I said, “What’s YouTube?” Within a few hours people were saying to me, “Father, you’re on Facebook”, “You’re on Twitter”. It’s up at 62million views now and people are still watching.’