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Kellie Lewis from Kilbehenny who got through the first round of The Voice of Ireland on Sunday night. Photo: (P)

Living the dream, 21-year-old Kellie Lewis from Knocknascrow, Kilbehenny is on cloud 9 having gotten through the first round of The Voice of Ireland and she is ecstatic about the thought of working with her idol, Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries.

Speaking to The Avondhu after Sunday night's show, Kellie said that this is 'a dream come true' and said she is so happy that she has actually got 'pains in her face from smiling so much'.

On the night, she sang 'Running Up That Hill' by Kate Bush and had three judges turn for her, with Kian Egan and Jamelia almost turning in the same second and then not two seconds later, Dolores O'Riordan was hot on their heels.

With three judges to choose from, Kellie went with her gut and said that she had to base her choice on her own musical influences and Dolores was a natural choice.

Back in 2012, this reporter interviewed Kellie for the first time, when she was just 19, ahead of her first festival appearance when she was preparing to take to the stage at Indiependence in Mitchelstown.

Bizzarely, considering that she will now be under Dolores O'Riordan as a mentor on The Voice, she said at the time in that interview that she would describe her sound as being 'Indie Rock' and she compared her music to that of The Cranberries.

As well as studying music in UCC and working in The Bodega in Cork, Kellie also gigs with her band Kellie Lewis & The Timekeepers and she hopes to continue their gigs with at least two a week, now that The Voice has started.

The young singer songwriter stressed that the band write their own music and if she goes any further in the competition, she will be pushing to perform some of her own music.

"In the last five days, I've written a song which is catchy and would be something that all girls can relate to. I'm writing songs at the moment in the hope of having an album in the future," she revealed to The Avondhu. 

She added that some people can become very reliant on the TV exposure from something like The Voice of Ireland, but she is grabbing the opportunity with both hands and hopes to make the most of it.

Kellie said that it is too early to say whether or not she thinks she could be in with a chance of winning, but she said that from here on in, every show she might get on is 'a bonus'.

In the meantime, she said that support has been fantastic - so much so that her Facebook page crashed on Sunday night and she is going out of her way to respond to everyone who has made the effort to congratulate her.

Her parents William and Mary and her eight sisters, have been a constant support for her and she said that without them, she wouldn't be able to pursue her dream with her music.

"I have massive support from my family and I remember one of my sisters being there for me at a gig where we only got paid €10, so that was €2.50 each and I still had my family there. They're so good and I'm so lucky to have them behind me," Kellie said.

Speaking to The Avondhu, William and Mary said that they were very proud of Kellie and that she sang very well on the night and deserved to get through.

Her father said that even from when she was tiny, she loved The Cranberries, so it is perfect that Dolores is her mentor. Her mother added that they are taking it all day by day and every time they get to see Kellie on television will be a bonus.

Meanwhile, there was great excitement in Kilbehenny on Sunday night, as people from the community eagerly tuned into RTE to cheer Kellie on.

"The excitement was unreal in Kilbehenny and Knocknascrow where she comes from. There were cheers and a big round of applause from almost 100 people at bingo when she got through," Moss Fitzgerald told The Avondhu

He added that the Lewis family are no strangers to music as Kellie's grandfather played music at the crossroads in Kilbehenny many years ago and all in Kilbehenny wish her continued success both on the show and with her music in general.

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