Thirteen-year-old Aimee hails from the small village of Moycullen, in County Galway, the heart of the Gaeltacht (the country’s Irish-speaking region). This young soprano has a lot of experience already; this past year, she won eight National Titles at Ireland’s prestigious Classical Festival Feis Ceoil and was also awarded Overall Vocalist Award and Bursary 2015 for Midlands Feis Ceoil, as well as first place at the International Vocal Competition “American Protege”. Furthermore, less than a month after her performance in Sofia, she’ll fly to New York and perform on the famed stage at Carnegie Hall! She recently released her debut album, “My Classical Spirit”, with proceeds from the album’s sale going to the LauraLynn children’s hospice.
Aimee’s favorite contemporary musical act is Hometown, but her idol is the soprano Maria Callas. She realizes that not many people her age dabble in classical music the way that she has, but through hard work, determination, and the love and support of her family (especially the memory of her Nana, Aimee’s biggest fan, who recently passed away), she has been able to break boundaries and make her dream come true: she’s singing on behalf of her country at Junior Eurovision!
About the song
When Aimee sings “Réalta na mara”, it will be the first time we’ve heard the Irish language performed at Junior Eurovision, and the first we’ve heard it in any Eurovision-related song since 1972! Aimee wrote the lyrics herself, and worked on the composition with Brendan McCarthy and veteran Eurovision songwriters Niall Mooney and Jonas Gladnikoff. The song is about the challenges that we all face in life, and how determination and strength will get us all through uncertain times.
It’s so cold tonight But the wind is at our back With luck on our side We’ll get home alive…
On stage at the Arena Armeec, you can anticipate a mystical, mysterious presentation, full of references to the sea. That, combined with Aimee’s lilting, yet powerful voice, will make “Réalta na mara” something special to see on November 21st.
