Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Craig bows out of The Voice at semi-final stage
Tom Jones tweets encouragement
Craig Ward has vowed to use his time on The Voice to boost his musical career after his journey on the television talent competition came to an end.
The Coatbridge singersongwriter missed out on a final place despite impressing judges with his rendition of Ed Sheeran’s Castle on the Hill during Saturday night’s semi-finals.
Despite his disappointment the 31-yearold told the Advertiser: “I gave it my best shot and The Voice has been nothing but a positive experience.
“I got to do some wonderful things, like visit Abbey Road Studios, perform on live television and had the honour of being mentored by Tom Jones, who sent out a tweet after the show saying I was great and to keep doing what I’m doing.
“Going into the competition I didn’t expect to get that far, but the support of everyone on the show, my family and the general public kept me going and helped me along on this brilliant ride.
“It is my dream to get a song released within the industry and I will now be building towards that.
“I’m starting to write new material and have plenty of gigs on the horizon.
“When I was writing, my experience on The Voice came to the fore, as well as advice I got from Tom about what people would like about my voice and how best to utilise it.”
Craig is backing his fellow “Team Tom” buddies Into The Ark to come out on top in this weekend’s final of The Voice – and reminisced about the highlight of his time on the show.
He said: “My favourite moment was my per f o rmance at the knockouts stage as Tom’s reaction was something special and it was the moment where I felt like a genuine contender.
“I’m very much hoping Into The Ark get the win in the final and think they’ve got a strong chance.
“They gave a special performance in the semifinals and if they can take that into this weekend, they can take home the top prize; plus it would be great to see a member of Team Tom win.”
Following his brush with fame, Craig is now back home in Coatbridge – and glad to return to the welcoming arms of beloved wife Alli and oneyear-old son Isaac.
He said: “It is good to be home and see Alli and Isaac again. I only got to spend an hour or two between shows with Alli and missed them both very much.
“Isaac has been a riot since I got back and he’s grown up considerably over the last few weeks.”