Africans Shine the Brightest!
21 year old Nigerian-British singer, Mo Adeniran after months of stellar performances, battle rounds and public votes was crowned the winner of The Voice UK 2017 during the show’s finale.
Mo who is a product of the Uk foster system, beat out: Michelle John, Jamie Miller and runners-up IntoThe Ark with his rendition of Iron Sky which had all judges turning their chairs.
Adeniran was left overwhelmed as the result was announced while his coach, singer and Oscar-winning actress, Jennifer Hudson was left in tears as she rushed to the stage to congratulate him.
“Thank you everyone at home, I just want to say thank you to Jennifer and all the coaches. An amazing thank you to the most phenomenal person I have ever met, thank you Jennifer,” Mo said after he was announced winner.
Adeniran’s rendition of Iron Sky was enough to buy the hearts of the judges as they were left turning in their chairs. He also performed Paolo Nutini’s Iron Sky and Unsteady by X Ambassadors
His road to glory began, when he got into Jennifer Hudson’s team, after battling Diamond in the sing-offs, with his rendition of A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke.
In the quarter-final, Jennifer chose Mo to got through, while the public voted for him at the semi-final stage to qualify for the final.
Apart from winning The Voice, the singer also won a record deal with Polydor Records and the company congratulated him via their Twitter account.
“CONGRATS TO @imjustcalledmo FOR WINNING THE VOICE UK! We’ll be seeing you soon,” they wrote.
Mo has Nigerian parentage, but was however brought up in the UK foster care system.
The 21-year-old who currently works night shifts at a hotel, came to the show with his best friend, Max Vickers, who made it through to the semi-finals.
Adeniran was raised in a foster home and lost another of his friend to drug overdose. Mo was adopted into a family at the age of three – only to be taken away again at the age of eight after it was discovered his adoptive mother was abusive.
He told Daily Star Sunday: “Social services stepped in. They saved me. It was a physical thing. She could be very hands on at times. Things happened that weren’t right.”
The star was then placed back into social services and his turbulent family life led him to go off the rails as a teen.
This came to a head when Mo lost his close pal in 2015 after he died from a drug overdose. Mike Carter, who was one of Mo’s bandmates, battled with an addiction to painkillers which he was taking for chronic back pain.
Tragically, Mo suffered another personal loss when his friends from the band Viola Beach died in a car crash last year.
The band, also from Warrington, were to play at a tribute concert for Mike before the accident Sweden which killed Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, and Jack Dakin.
