The Voice's Harrison: I want to fall in love

The Voice’s new star tells JACKIE BRYGEL how singing helps him feel more free.

He had all four coaches fighting over him, but there was a time when The Voice contestant Harrison Craig felt anything but in demand. “It’s really good to see Harrison get the recognition because for so long he didn’t,” says his mum, Janine Cochrane. Suffering from a severe speech impediment all his life, growing up wasn’t easy. “In primary school, I was bullied for seven years, the whole time I was there,” he recalls, quietly. “You try and ignore it – that’s the best you can do.”

He found the easiest way to rise above the nastiness was to focus on his true passion of performing, inspired by a mix of jazz, classical and pop (he calls it “popera”). “When I sing, the speech impediment goes away,” he says. “Singing is a way that I can express myself freely in a sense that I can’t do when I’m talking.” By his own admission, Harrison has always had plenty to say but hasn’t quite been able to get it off his chest.

He explains, “At certain points in time, it’s a matter of it being blocked or not coming out as clearly as I would like it to.” Now, the 18-year-old remains hopeful he will get his stutter completely under control. “Having a stutter is like you’re driving along and then you hit a pothole. To be able to slowly and, with time, control it, is a goal of mine,” Harrison explains.

“For me, it’s not about a cure – it’s about controlling it.” Unsurprisingly, Janine, who raised Harrison and his younger brother Connor, 13, on her own, couldn’t be more proud.