A Nottinghamshire singer has shared how he started his 'amazing journey' on ITV's The Voice with karaoke at his parents' pubs. Mark Howard, 28, who works as an estate agent and lives in Woodthorpe, will soon appear in the semi-finals of the singing competition at 8pm on Saturday, October 22 after making the grade out of thousands of hopeful applicants.
Mark grew up in pubs ran by his parents Louise and Brian Howard-Blades and honed his skills in boozer karaokes. His parents run the Nags Head in Carlton, but have managed other pubs in Nottinghamshire and Doncaster previously.
Mark and his family have now shared his exciting journey on the ITV show, and its impact on their lives. "For pretty much forever I've been in pubs so I did a bit of karaoke and tried a lot of other things but got pushed back a lot, so I went to work as an estate agent.
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"But then five or six years after I had sung in any sort of competition, I thought I would give it [The Voice] a go on a whim. And then it went from there - it has been madness because I didn't even consider making it past the first round but then all the four coaches turned around.
"Anne-Marie has been very helpful because before I was a nervous wreck when singing in public. I nearly didn't do the blinds (blind auditions), I tried to back out when I was at the bottom of the stage stairs.
"But as each round has progressed I've spent more time with the coaches and I've grown a bit more in confidence. My family are my biggest cheerleaders, I've got a niece who waves at the TV whenever I'm on."
Mark's previous performances have been shown on TVs inside the Nags Head pub, with his mum labelling it an "amazing journey". "Mark is in the semi-finals this Saturday and it has been an amazing journey for him and everyone in the family, we're very proud. He's very good but he is an estate agent by trade," pub landlady Louise Howard-Blades, 46, said.
"It all stemmed from him doing karaoke with us running pubs. It has been brilliant for him.
"He got four chairs - I think he's quite an emotional singer but he'll sing a bit of anything he doesn't have one style in particular. They've [The Voice] been brilliant with him and I think it's given him a big confidence boost.
"We went to his audition and every time I watch it I still get goosebumps. It's been an experience for the whole family, his niece loves it.
"We all watch it in the pub with the regulars. The pub featured in part of the show and we've had people some customers come here and say they've seen it on the TV."
Tonight’s episode – hosted as always by Emma Wills – will see the 12 remaining acts competing for a place in the final. The coaches can pick only one from their teams of three to progress to the next stage of the competition.
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