Four
years on after initially chasing careers as solo artists who were thrown
together as a group act on Britain’s biggest singing talent show- ‘Britain’s
Got The Voice Factor’, Harold, Lionel, Lewis and Neil or as they're better
known-‘Can't say no,’ have become one of the worlds
biggest boy bands with their fan base spanning across 120 different countries
on 6 different continents. Now tonight they're standing on stage, with instruments
in hand ready to take down the house at London's O2 arena- one of many
locations on their nationwide tour. Seeing them warm up their vocals and tuning
their instruments so finely just goes to show that they’re truly in this business for the love of what they do
rather than for the perks that come with the job- although they are an added
bonus.
But if we step back in time only 4-5 years ago,
you’d see a very different image of the boys; they’d be non-recognizable living
their average lives with their working class jobs, performing either at home in
the shower, in their bedrooms or in the evenings to audiences of less than 30
with hope of one day becoming stars. “We all came from different
backgrounds with the same dream and goals of what we wanted to accomplish in
the future, it was only a matter of being in the right place at the right time
that actually brought us together” Harold told MTV in a recent
interview. “We didn’t realize it at the time, but this was something
special, something that was going to become big”.
So lets
take a look at how the boys came to be on Britain’s Got The Voice Factor back
in 2012. Well let’s start with Harold who from birth was surrounded by music
with his father as a jazz musician and local celebrity in the town where they
lived. Inspired by his father's dream as well as his own passion for music,
Harold decided to begin to pursue music himself when he turned 18 and moved to
London to attempt this. His career didn't take off in the way he initially wanted
as finding a solid enough gig was tough, especially in a place like London, so
he got a job in a restaurant, that often had live musical performances, waiting
tables and washing dishes in order to get by. After hearing Harold sing whilst
cleaning their table, a few customers expressed to him and his manager just how
beautiful his voice was and after a while more customers began to notice the
same thing. Eventually his boss gave him the chance and come October 2011 he was
performing on stage to a small crowd every other night. But this wasn't enough
for Harold; he didn't want to just be known as 'The Singing
Waiter' all his life so later that month he signed up for the talent
show that would one day make his career.
Lionel’s story was different as compared to Harold he was at a disadvantage
with his family having no musical background. Living in a place like Liverpool made
it very easy for Lionel to find some inspiration from a few homegrown legends
you may have heard of called 'The Beatles'. It is known fact that
Lionel draws his musical motivation from 'The Beatles' however
unlike his heroes, Lionel always lacked the confidence to sing in front of
anyone so his talents almost went to waste especially as his father had always
pushed him towards a more 'Practical' career. It was only when Lionel went to
see the live auditions of the show that he actually gained that confidence. As
it turns out he wasn't going to just watch the live auditions but in fact his
mum had signed him up in secret without even telling him until a couple days
before. Lionel rehearsed his heart out and despite a couple of minor mistakes
due to nerves in his initial audition, he blew the audience away. Now he's gone
from idolizing people like Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to performing in
front of them and going out for a drink with them afterwards.
Lewis was in a much better position going into
his audition. As a young child and teenager, Lewis loved performing in front of
audiences whether it was in school shows or in local performances that they
held in Dublin, so he already had performing experience. He was discovered by a
small time talent agent at 13 and began writing and performing his own songs
attracting a small fan base. He became quite well known in Ireland performing
in small theatres however his career became very short lived after his talent
agent dropped him at the age of 15 as he was no longer a profitable compared to
artists like Westlife and Boyzone. This hit Lewis hard and he ended up becoming
depressed. He just wasn't himself anymore. It took much encouragement and a lot
for Lewis to be able to put himself back out there but as soon as he found out
the show was coming to town he realized that this would be his final chance to
prove not only to the judges but to himself that he deserved what he so much
strove for. Since his audition it literally put him on top of the world and he
became the fun loving and lively guy once again that he used to be in his
younger days because he was given another chance at doing what he was meant to
be doing.
Neil probably had the more normal story of the
four that led him to his audition. Everyone that knows Neil has always said how
much he always loved to sing whether it was around the house or when he was out
with his friends, it was a surprise his teachers could even get him to work so
it was only a matter of time that Neil eventually signed up to audition for the
show. Coming from a place like Leeds there wasn’t much opportunity for him to
actually prove himself so he knew he had to find a way. He drove himself to the
London auditions and in fact he didn’t even tell anyone he was auditioning for
the show, even his family didn’t know until it aired. He blew the audience and
the judges away, not surprisingly to all to his loved ones. He knew he had the
ability to do so and with confidence and zeal, walked out on that stage and
absolutely owned it.
Although
each of the boys individual auditions were in fact exceptional, the music mogul
himself Simone Coyle thought that each of their unique voices would mesh
together in a soothing harmony. After a few trial rehearsals they all decided
that this group idea worked and they were all happy to collaborate with one
another for the sake of their careers and to bring that extra something special
to the show. After a successful run through the show and the live performances,
‘Can’t say no’ as they eventually became,
finished in the top 5 but sadly did not win. Despite the fact, they got signed
anyway to Coyles Record label SiCoy resulting in a more significant and
successful career than any of the previous winners of the show have. ‘Cant say no’ are now in their fourth
year as a group and are better than ever. But if anyone thought that they might
be slowing down any time soon then come see for yourselves and look no further
than their current tour. They open the O2 show by telling their 20,000 adoring
fans “This is dedicated to all of you out there, without you we wouldn’t be
able to do what we love each and every day and we’re thankful for that”. All
the fans in the audience rejoice with one another, as the show is about to
begin. I see their smiling faces and their eccentric movement around the stage;
I know it and they know it that this is exactly where and who they are supposed
to be.
