Stepping out in front of a packed theatre, filled with an audience who were hungry to discover the next winner of Britain’s Got Talent, 29-year-old Vinnie McKee was ready to shoot his shot for the top spot. Hailing from Glasgow, Vinnie has spent the last 10 years working as a singer and bingo caller at a holiday park. Since delivering a BGT audition that amazed viewers and is sure to astonish Music Man fans too, it is clear that his entire life is about to change.
Performing a ballad-style rendition of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” Vinnie’s rich, powerful voice had the audience chanting at the judges to “Press the gold!” Simon Cowell, moved by the moment, gave in to the crowd’s demands and hit the golden buzzer, sending Vinnie through to the semi-finals. Online audiences were similarly impressed, one viewer commented, “I never thought I’d shed tears for 500 Miles, but I did today.” The audition has now received over 2.5M views in only a week.
I was astonished by Vinnie’s imaginative reworking of the song when I first saw his BGT audition. Whenever I think of ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’, I think of it as a lively sing-along anthem and it’s hard to imagine it any other way, making me all the more amazed by Vinnie’s emotional version. On top of that, his powerful voice took my breath away, meaning his overwhelmed reaction to receiving the golden buzzer was even more magical to see.
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As Simon noted during his audition, it is astonishing that Vinnie has gone from bingo caller to BGT star seemingly overnight, with very few steps in between. Whilst he seems to have posted videos of himself singing on his YouTube channel, they have largely flown under the radar. Despite his most viewed YouTube video, a cover of ‘Falling’ by Harry Styles, having only 3.5k views, his voice is unmistakable, with his talent shining through even in the simple home recording.
Music Man readers who love BGT are sure to know that there are lots of elements that can make or break an audition. With his creative reimagining of the song, his emotional performance, and his raw and powerful singing talent, it seems that Vinnie McKee is the whole package. It is obvious the audience thinks so, with their enthusiastic demands that he get put through to the semi-finals. Now it is time for fans to patiently await his semi-final performance and see if he can, once again, astonish viewers enough to secure his spot in the final.