John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ Sung by 7 Yr-Old Shaney Lee will Bring Tears to Your Eyes?
Mangaluru: The country song by John Denver named “Take Me Home Country Roads” was one of my most favorite song during my teenage days, also during my college, and last night when I saw the replay of the “The Voice Kids UK 2018”, where one of the contestants in that show, 7-year-old Shaney-Lee from Bristol, in South West England, when he sang John Denver’s hit number “Take Me Home Country Roads” did bring back memories of the yesteryears, and also literally brought tears in my eyes. Thank You, little Shaney Lee, for the lovely song sang so perfect in your sweet and cute voice.
The Song “Country Roads” sung by Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as “John Denver”, was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, activist, and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer. Denver’s music appeared on a variety of charts, including country music, the Billboard Hot 100, and adult contemporary, in all earning him twelve gold and four platinum albums with his signature songs “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Annie’s Song”, “Rocky Mountain High”, “Calypso”, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, and “Sunshine on My Shoulders”. The Colorado State, USA legislature also adopted “Rocky Mountain High” as one of its two state songs in 2007. Denver was an avid pilot who died aged 53 in a single-fatality crash while flying his experimental Rutan Long-EZ canard-aircraft. May His Soul Rest in Peace!
Shaney-Lee had performed ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ by John Denver in Round 1 of the Blind Auditions on The Voice Kids UK 2018 on 16 July 2018. Backstage during the show, His mother described Shaney as an “old man in a little person’s body” and his adorable audition on Britain’s ‘The Voice’ has got everyone in awe of this incredible little man . The 7-year-old from Bristol had arrived by horse to his blind audition. He’s a fan of country and western music and loves to watch Kenny Rogers live. His country cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home” had the crowd cheering and judges smiling for more and were downright irresistible.
This second series of the search for Britain’s best young singer will be stripped across eight consecutive nights, making it a week-long TV event. Youngsters between the ages of seven and 14 can enter. Up for grabs is a £30,000 bursary towards the winner’s musical education, plus a family holiday to Disneyland Paris! The Voice Kids is a British television talent show created by John de Mol and its first premiere was on 10 June 2017 on ITV. Presented by Emma Willis, the programme is a junior version of The Voice UK and is part of The Voice Kids’worldwide franchise. Repeats also air on CITV and ITV2. The Voice Kids UK was renewed for a third series in June 2018, to air in 2019.
In early 2016, along with the announcement that The Voice UK would move to ITV under a three-year deal, it was announced that the network had ordered The Voice Kids for two series, it was announced that the network had ordered The Voice Kids for three series a junior version of The Voice UK. The open auditions application for the first series closed on 2 September 2016, with the age limit being 7–14 years old.The show began staging producers’ audition days in August 2016 across the United Kingdom, with the blind auditions beginning filming in December 2016.
There are four phases to the competition: Stage 1: Blind Auditions; Stage 2: Battle Rounds; Stage 3: Semi-Final, and Stage 4: Live Final. In the first series, the winner received £30,000 and a family trip to Disneyland Paris. Unlike the adult version, there are no knockouts rounds. When it was previously reported that the adult version’s sixth series would feature five live shows (which turned out to be the usual three), reports claimed that there would be three live shows; however there was only one, the live final. The semi-final was pre-recorded at L2 Studios on 19 February 2017.
In conclusion, John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” was always played by the band during Catholic weddings in the 80’s and 90’s I Mangaluru, and that number is still popular. I remember playing that song in the car stereo while driving the country streets in suburb Chicago during my days there. And now this tiny kid Shaney-Lee did bring back memories of my favorite song, and I bet it is also the favorite of Mangalorean.com readers of my age. Happy listening!
