13-year-old Ronan Parke surprised everyone on Britain’s Got Talent earlier this year, starting off with a fantastic audition singing ‘Feeling Good’.
He was the runner-up on the show, but was still signed to a record deal, and has been quick getting to work on his debut album.
Starting with his audition song, it’s clear that Parke has great talent, his vocals soaring on the heavy ballad.
The song choices fit his slightly soul-influenced style well, although it’s a little disappointing hearing him performing the censored version of Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’.
Regardless, he belts it out wonderfully, and this will no doubt be a big favourite in the run-in to Christmas.
The self-titled debut is largely made up of covers (the Gary Barlow-penned ‘Stronger Than I Am’ being a notable exception), and in the choices this is fairly predictable in terms of the style of the tracklisting.
Where this album excels is in Ronan Parke’s performance, which is as note-perfect as it is a surprise.
Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Because of You’ is a predictable choice, fitting perfectly into the Britain’s Got Talent/The X Factor formula, but to Ronan’s credit, he does it well.
One of the album’s most beautiful moments is Ronan taking on Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ in an intimate, acoustic setting.
Despite being a slightly clichéd way to end the record, Parke’s talent once again makes it impossible to discredit the song or the album as a whole.
When it comes down to it, in terms of the track-listing, style and production, this is a fairly run-of-the-mill reality show contestant debut record, taking heavy influence from Simon Cowell’s Syco Music.
However, it gets brought to a new level when Parke’s age actually benefits him, hitting some incredible notes and embracing every song.
It’s not definite that this will lead to a solid career as an adult, but it’s a great base on which he can build.