Kyra Smith, allergic to gravity, wins praise with haunting rendition of Golden Slumbers
'When I stand up, my heart rate also shoots up' - Kyra
A Manchester student, with a rare, gravity-related medical disorder, wowed the judges on the return of The Voice, making herself an early favourite to win the prized recording contract with Universal Records.
Wheelchair user Kyra Smith, 20, who is “allergic to gravity”, made two of the judges turn their famous chairs around, with her haunting version of The Beatles track, Golden Slumbers.
Her mother Rachel told the show: “She was born to sing”.
Brave Kyra has PoTS Syndrome -- postural tachycardia syndrome -- which makes the heart rate increase rapidly after getting up from sitting or lying down.
She said: “I've been in this chair for about just over a year now, so it's still pretty new.
“Basically, I'm, like, allergic to gravity, so when I stand up, my heart rate also shoots up.
“I'm in an ambulatory wheelchair user, so I use it mostly when I'm outside my house.”
She added: “The condition has definitely affected my singing. You were always taught that you need to stand up for good projection or whatever, so I'm relearning how to sing sat down.
“I'd like to show people, even if you've got limitations, it doesn't have to stop you from doing something like this.”
Both Sir Tomes Jones, and new paired judges from McFly, Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones, made strong pitches for Kyra to join their teams.
Said Sir Tom: “You sound great, Kyra.
“That was a lovely rendition of that song. I held off turning to listen to what you were going to do, because it's a hard song to sing, yeah.
“I wanted to find out if you were going to carry it all the way through, and you did.”
McFly’s Tom Fletcher told Kyra: “As soon as you started singing, all my hairs were standing off my arm, and we say, ‘the goosebumps, don't lie.
“I should have pressed instantly, but I think I just wanted to hear the rest of the song."
In the end, Kyra opted for the McFly team.
Said Wil.i.am: “Your voice is so powerful. Your spirit and drive is powerful.
"I'm so happy that you're on the show, because there's a lot of people out there that need that inspiration, that source of determination that you possess. It's beyond admirable.”
Mum Rachel explained: “I first realised Kyra enjoyed singing when she was able to sit in the toilet.
"She'd just sing all the time, all the way to nursery, all the way back.
"She was born to sing.”
Earlier in the show, the team returned in spectacular fashion with a song filmed at the Old Trafford stadium, home to Manchester United.
New judges, LeAnn Rimes from America, along with Tom and Danny from McFly, joined Will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones for a rousing version of Stevie Nicks' classic Edge of Seventeen.
Dozens of dancers strutted their moves during the performance, which was capped by a fireworks display in the Manchester skies to welcome the show back to its Media City studio.
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window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20240827.min.js"Kyra Smith, allergic to gravity, wins praise with haunting rendition of Golden Slumbers
Kyra Smith, allergic to gravity, wins praise with haunting rendition of Golden Slumbers
Kyra Smith, allergic to gravity, wins praise with haunting rendition of Golden Slumbers
Kyra Smith, allergic to gravity, wins praise with haunting rendition of Golden Slumbers
Kyra Smith, allergic to gravity, wins praise with haunting rendition of Golden Slumbers
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