One of the things that makes “The X Factor” much better than “American Idol” is the lack of an upper-end age limit. The over-30′s even get their own mentor, although they usually don’t make it far once the live shows start. But Mary Byrne may.
Mary is 50 and works at a Tesco in Ireland. She had quit singing for 11 years because of low self-esteem. Yes, the story has some similarities to Susan Boyle. And like Susan Boyle, she blew me away with her rendition of “I Who Have Nothing.”
I’m happiest because the Auto-Tune scandal happened the first week and Mary was aired without any tweaks, so unlike everyone the first week (and indeed all past contestants and Boyle herself) there is no doubt that she sounds completely incredible.
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
I don’t watch x factor as a rule. Husband went to see a mate, flicking through the channels and put the program on. When I saw Mary Byrne and heard her voice my hair on my arms and the back of my head stood up on end. The feeling and the passion you could see she had along with her powerful voice she was going to do well. Fingers crossed she succeeds in progressing through the program. What a voice
I completely agree! She’s fantastic. Out of all that have auditioned, she’s my favorite. Problem is, is that X factor seems geared toward the younger crowd (I know there are a ton of older viewers too), but it seems like X factor has younger winners and Britain’s Got Talent has the older contestants (SuBo). That doesn’t mean I won’t be cheering her on!