I'm better than Kian, says Voice hopeful

Andy Mac Unfraidh impresses all four mentors with his performance of Somewhere Only We Know by indie band Keane.

But not before admitting that he and his battle competitor are better singers than former Westlife star Kian and his advisor – McFly's Danny Jones.

"To be honest, there was so much adrenaline running through me at the time that I don't even remember saying that," Andy told the Herald.

"I gave him a bit of slagging in the blind auditions as well about being in Westlife, but in fairness I think we work well together."

Andy said he can learn a lot from the blonde singer turned presenter.

"He knows what he's talking about – he's been in Westlife for 14 years so you don't travel around the world without picking up a lot of tips."

But it has not been all plain sailing for the singer-songwriter who has been on the receiving end of some home truths from Sligo native Kian.

"In the rehearsals I stood there with hands in my pockets and I got bit of a going over from the boss and he basically said 'if you don't rock out you're not going through'.

upbeat

"The song that we did was pretty upbeat and neither of us can dance so thankfully you won't see too many dance moves from me," he added.

Despite having a rocky rehearsal, viewers will see Andy blossom on stage and he receives positive feedback from the judges.

Andy is most comfortable with a guitar in his hand and is hoping to get a songwriting deal on the back of the show.

"I don't just write songs for myself. But the problem is that I don't have an outlet to get these songs to the artists so hopefully being on the show will provide me with that," he added.

If Andy proceeds into the live shows in three weeks time there could be family rivalry in store for the Dubliner, whose cousin Dean Anthony is on team Sharon.

"We are pretty close and there is plenty of friendly rivalry between us," said Andy.

hnews@herald.ie