Rise to Fame
Prior to his appearance on ‘The Voice Kids UK’, Lewis Blissett had already garnered some initial popularity. He had performed in shows at his school and the videos of these performances were later shared on the school’s Facebook page. One such performance, a cover of Demi Lovato's ‘Stone Cold’, went viral, receiving hundreds of thousands of views.
In 2016, Blissett replied to an advertisement asking for applications for open auditions for the inaugural season of ‘The Voice Kids UK’. The creators of the show started holding auditions in August 2016 across the United Kingdom. In December 2016, they began shooting the blind auditions.
The show premiered on June 10, 2017. Blissett made his first appearance on the third episode, which aired on 24 June. He sang Pixie Lott’s song ‘Cry Me Out’ and got all the three judges, including Lott herself, to turn their chairs around for him. He eventually chose to join Lott’s team.
He then appeared on the second episode of the battle round, which aired on 9 July, and performed Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with fellow contestants Leah D'Cruz and Devon Browne. After the performance, he was chosen over the other two to proceed to the following round.
In the semi-final round, which aired on 15 July, Blissett sang the Motown soul song ‘Who’s Lovin’ You’. Despite receiving a standing ovation, he, along with Sophia Burridge, was eliminated in favour of Jess Folley, who went on to win the competition. Blissett later reminisced what occurred at the time on the stage. He simply nodded at first but after seeing Sophia cry, he broke down as well.
In 2018, he requested Adam Gregory, the founder of U Support Children’s Charity, to hold a concert in his hometown so his grandmother, Lorraine, could attend. At the time, she was receiving chemotherapy for her lung cancer. The concert was held in April 2018 and Blissett, along with many of his fellow contestants, including the season’s winner Folley, performed there. All the proceeds from the concert went to the charity. In 2017, they had hosted a similar concert, but Lorraine could not be there because of her ill health.
In the recent months, Blissett has been active on various platforms of social media. He created his YouTube account in December 2013 and posted the first video in April 2017. Since ‘The Voice Kids UK’ concluded, he has been posting covers of various popular songs on a regular basis. He has done covers of Rihanna's 'Love On The Brain', Ariana Grande’s ‘No Tears Left to Cry’, Zayn’s ‘Pillow Talk’, and the gospel hymn ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’ (Blissett covered the ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (1993) rendition), to name a few. He regularly posts photographs and videos on his Instagram page as well. Some of these videos are of his covers, while others are of his onstage performances. Many of the photographs are either selfies or pictures documenting his life. His family and friends also make regular appearances in his posts.
Personal Life
Lewis Blissett was born on March 12, 2004, in Swindon, England. His mother, Kelly Newman, is also a singer. He was born with an inherent interest in music and started singing when he was four or five. Besides his mother, he has also been inspired by the likes of Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato. According to Blissett, singing has always been the most important thing in his life. He has no idea what he would have been if he not a singer.
Blissett attends Commonweal School where he has received singing lessons from Ali Sutcliffe, the music teacher and head of the expressive and performing arts faculty. Sutcliffe has this to say on Blissett’s prodigious talent, “When you look at Lewis you would be surprised. He is a tiny little guy and you don’t expect the voice that comes out of him. It’s amazingly powerful. He captivates the audience.”
