64-Year-Old Priest Sings Heartfelt Rendition Of "Everybody Hurts" For BGT Audition

May 09, 2020 by apost team

With the numerous scandals that the Catholic church is facing nowadays, a parish priest from OldCastle, County Meath, Ireland, touched everyone’s heart when he auditioned at a popular TV show in the United Kingdom dubbed Britain's Got Talent (BGT).

Fr. Ray Kelly was 64 when he auditioned for BGT in 2014, a televised British talent show competition whose show’s leading adjudicator is no less than Mr. Simon Cowell. When called on stage, Fr. Ray got to introduce himself in front of the judges and exchanged jokes with them.

The 64-year-old priest chose the song called “Everybody Hurts,” a song which is an original of the well-known American rock band from Athens, Georgia, R.E.M.

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His rendition of the song literally brought the house down as he received thunderous applause and standing ovations from the judges and the live audience of the show.

“My parents were musical,” Fr. Kelly shared. “Growing up in a musical family, we were held up like trophies every time we get to share our talents ... I knew I could put up a fairly good performance, but I never saw the amazing comments from the judges coming.”

Fr. Kelly watches the show BGT and he’s totally inclined to give it a try. But it took him a lot of careful thinking before he decided to audition.

“I decided to put myself forward without really knowing what to expect,” he quipped.

But even before joining the talent show, Fr. Kelly has been a huge sensation on social media when he was recorded singing Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah" during a wedding in his parish church. The video which was uploaded on YouTube got over 10 million views.

"I’m going to tell you something. This is one of my favorite ever auditions! I think your voice is beautiful. I love the version of the song. This is everything we’ve been waiting for. I absolutely loved it," said Simon.

What did you think of this performance? Did you love it just as much as the judges did? What is your favorite performance from Britain's Got Talent? Let us know in the comments – and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family.