Being diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome could make some people give up on life, but not Nicholas McDonald. "I needed to find another way to release all my energy but not actually exert myself. My Mum kept going on about singing, but I just kept saying no because singing was for girls and nobody I knew did it... except for girls". But she didn't give up after hearing him singing around the house, and after a year and a half he finally gave it a go. "I still thought it was for girls but it got to the point where I didn't have anything else I could do because of my heart condition so I thought why not".
It was Angels by Robbie Williams that actually made him think he wanted to be a singer "It is such an incredible song", along with Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On and Mariah Carey's Hero. "These were the songs that my MUM played around the house but they all just made me want to sing".
Although his first performance might not have been the big deal most singers crave, his sister Antonia's first birthday party was the perfect place for Nicky to perform, even if it was My Heart Will Go On! A sneaky arrangement (by his Mum) with the school headteacher, about Nicholas performing at the Leavers Day concert of his primary school, was a risk worth taking. "It was soooo embarrassing" he reveals, "but everyone seemed to love it".
Signed up by his headteacher, Britain's Got Talent Followed, where 12-year-old Nicholas made it to the semi finals. But it was an encouraging word from Simon Cowell that made him finally give singing a proper go a few years later...
Hop, Skip and Flying Without Wings later, and 17-year-old Nicholas McDonald made it to the final of The X Factor. " One minute I was sitting at home watching this show every year and wishing I was doing it, and the next I just went for it and applied. Coming second on that show is the most amazing thing to happen to me... considering the doctors told me I couldn't do ANYTHING!
Nicky Is now set to showcase his mixture of covers and original songs to audiences across the globe and sets out on the next part of his journey by performing all around the UK on his own Headline shows.
