- Music
- 11 Mar 15
She pays homage to divas such as Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield and Adele this April.
A renowned Irish voice who came to the public's attention on X Factor>, Melanie McCabe is fresh from big Dublin and Cork shows with Red Hurley and now the 21-year-old is coming back to headline those stages herself.
You can catch her on April 5 in the National Concert Hall, Dublin. She then performs in the Cork Opera House on April 19. ON both nights the Dubliner will be paying homage to the great divas of our time, tackling the songs of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Adele, Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner and many others.
Major industry figure Pat Egan is now managing her, having been bowled over by her performances with Red.
"Melanie's appearance on the big stage at the Cork Opera House was a moment of sheer brilliance," says Egan. "She performed a duet with Red on 'The Prayer' and literally brought the house down. She got two mid-song standing ovations. The performance was repeated the following night at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. I was chatting to Melanie after the show and amazed that she had no manager or agent, which tends, I am told, to be the case with so many X Factor> contestants [career over before it began].
"She told me she was planning to go to LA to try her luck," he continues. "Not a very wise move for such a young girl, I thought. LA is the last place in the world for a young 'wannabe'. LA is all about contacts, without them you are lost.
"Having seen the reaction of the audience, spellbound by what I regard, after almost 50 years in the business, as the greatest female voice ever in Ireland, I offered her a deal that made her feel secure as an artist – no more bars or karaoke shows I told her."
Tickets for the NCH and Cork Opera House are on sale now.