Andrew raises his voice to battle into TV semis
THE TV journey continues for Macclesfield singer Andrew Bateup after he made it through the battle round on prime-time show The Voice.
The 31-year-old, who lives off Buxton Road, has now made it through to the final 24 contestants and will next be seen taking part in the semi-finals.
On Saturday Andrew was shown pitted against fellow-hopeful Matt Croke in a face-to-face singing battle of Bon Jovi hit Always.
Judges had to choose one to progress and, despite being up against an opponent who is an established West End performer, Andrew got the nod.
The battle round was filmed in December but it was still with some trepidation that he watched it back this weekend.
Andrew said: “It was very exciting but weird watching it back. I was just as nervous as when I did it as you don’t know how it is all going to come across.
“Always is a very big song and we had to take it in turns to sing. It’s well out of my comfort zone but it’s good to do something you wouldn’t normally.”
The semi-finals will be shown on Saturday, March 6, and March 13, ahead of the final on March 20.
Andrew is currently one of six on a team with popstar Olly Murs as his mentor.
Three of these will go forward to 12 facing a public vote, for which each of the three other famous mentors will provide the same number of contestants.
Here four will go through to a grand final where a winner is crowned.
Andrew, who lives with his fiancée, Charlotte, and miniature labradoodle, Penny, has previously worked in musical theatre and toured the UK and Ireland as part of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
He has studied at the Royal Academy of Music before moving to Cheshire and also works as a teacher having decided to take a step back away from the entertainment.
Andrew said: “Back in 2016, I had a terrible experience as a performer that set me back quite dramatically.
“At the time I had thought that my career was just about to take off after years of grafting away on the road and gigging around the country but unfortunately this was not the case.
“I took a big step away from the industry and found a real love for teaching.
“It gave me stability and I joined a department full of supportive and caring people.
“I found a comfortable life where I could teach during the week and then sing at weddings/events in the evenings or at the weekends, but I continued to have a deeply rooted desire to perform to larger audiences.”
The Voice continues on ITV on Saturday evenings.