Tears and Joy after Coventry Singer Wins TV Voice battle
It was a bitter-sweet moment for a Coventry singer as she continued her journey on hit talent show The Voice – but knocked a close friend out of the competition at the same time.
Melissa Gill, a music student at Coventry University, was paired with Vicky Jones for the battle stage and their friendship blossomed throughout.
However their mentor, Sir Tom Jones, could only take one through and it was Melissa who progressed after their duet of Just Give Me A Reason by Pink.
The final song choice came after the girls had already started laying the foundations to another number and left them with just a few rehearsals to put their performance together.
Melissa, 22, said: “We were originally doing a Supremes song which I was chuffed with and we were preparing for that, and then at rehearsals one day Tom said he thought he had it wrong and wanted to change the song.
“He wanted to do something more modern so we changed, but we had less time to sort it out.
“The song now suited Vicky more than me as she listened to Pink and it wasn’t something I would really have on my iPod.
“We both really warmed to the song though and it went really well.
“I had to start the song so I had to gear myself up to get the whole scene rolling, so I hope it sounds good on the TV.”
The tears flowed once the song reached its climax and Melissa was eventually revealed as the second singer who will be flying the flag for Coventry, following Lee Glasson’s success in his battle last week.
Speaking of the tension as the mentors made their final decision, Melissa said: “It was terrifying. There’s nothing else you can do and you have done your best with the song.
“I could feel myself getting upset at the end of what it is an emotional song. We are friends and it was heart-wrenching to know one of us was leaving.
“I cried when I got through as I was upset for Vicky and then it wasn’t nice either standing at the side to see if they get a steal or not.”
Despite this Melissa wouldn’t fancy the mentors’ job of having to decide on people’s futures.
She said: “It must be really difficult as I think the battle is a strange way to decide who goes through.
“Everyone at that stage is as good as each other, just different. So it must be a very difficult decision and I don’t envy the judges.”