Customers at the grocery giant Tesco were always delighted to travel through Mary Byrne’s line because they knew they would get more than just exceptional customer service. Mary enjoyed singing song clips to her customers while assisting them with their purchases.

Mary had liked singing since she was a child, but she stopped performing in front of larger audiences when she was twenty-eight. Mary suffered from low self-esteem and despair following a disastrous relationship.

After a while, Mary’s relatives began to encourage her to resume singing. They were aware of her incredible voice and wanted others to be aware of it as well. She finally worked up the confidence to audition for Nollaig No. 1, an Irish television singing competition. She won, much to her amazement!

Mary decided to try out for something greater – The X Factor – with a renewed love for singing and a significant boost in her confidence. When it was Mary’s chance to audition, she took the stage and briefly introduced herself to the judges. None of them seemed to notice the relatively unassuming fifty-year-old woman in front of them.

The judges clearly feared Mary wouldn’t be able to do her audition song, “I Who Have Nothing” by Tom Jones, justice. She didn’t appear bothered by the lack of faith in her because she had plenty of her own. As she began to sing, the audience and judges became more intrigued and took note. The music began to grow, and when Mary hit the song’s high notes, the audience began to cheer for her

She stood her stance on stage and hammered every single note without hesitation. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it was apparent that Mary would fearlessly accept it and make the most of it. The audience was on their feet cheering and clapping before she had even finished.

Judges Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole, and Katy Perry all praised Mary’s performance, but when it came time for Simon to weigh in, she took a deep breath to calm herself. He is well-known for being direct and to-the-point.

With a solemn expression on his face, Simon said to Mary, “I think you have the best voice out of everyone that auditioned today…

and more than that…I adore you.”

Mary can absolutely quit the grocery shop and pursue music with such a powerful voice. She’ll never have to question her abilities again.