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00:01We're travelling across the country to hear the people of Britain
00:04sing the songs that tell their incredible stories.
00:09Our mentors Sam Ryder and Paloma Faith
00:12will choose one singer from each city
00:15to perform at a once-in-a-lifetime concert
00:17at the legendary Hackney Empire.
00:21This week, we've set up our Your Song stage
00:24right in the heart of the nation's second city.
00:27Over 40 million people visit the ball ring every year
00:30and today, some of them are going to be lucky enough
00:32to perform on this very stage right here.
00:35Welcome to Your Song!
00:42Here we are in Birmingham, pal. Are you excited?
00:45I know. I'm so excited.
00:45I'm actually kind of elated that we're in the ball ring,
00:48which makes me think there's going to be a huge crowd.
00:51In the 16th century, they used to use it for ball-baiting.
00:54To catch it.
00:55But the name sort of stuck, called it the ball ring,
00:58and they've put a ball, they call it the Guardian,
01:00but a more loving name they gave it was Perry.
01:02Perry the ball is going to be watching over,
01:04everyone's singing.
01:05I've got some heavy metal facts for you.
01:07Go on.
01:07Right, so heavy metal birthplace is considered worldwide to be Birmingham.
01:12So you've got Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Napalm Death.
01:15I don't think anyone's said Napalm Death on Channel 4 before,
01:17but they came from here.
01:18Wow!
01:19It's like a real hub, isn't it?
01:21Yeah, yeah.
01:21Who else has come from here?
01:23UB40, Duran Duran, Joan Arbor Trading,
01:27and obviously our lovely Alison Hammond comes from here.
01:30I know.
01:31So she's like the jewel of Birmingham.
01:33Good morning, everyone.
01:35Good morning.
01:36You all right, everyone?
01:37Welcome to Birmingham.
01:40I feel good about this city.
01:42Yeah.
01:42I feel like it's going to deliver.
01:43Let's go and have a look.
01:44Let's go.
01:46Paloma and Sam will be able to see and hear all of the singers
01:49who take to our stage.
01:51Close, close, close.
01:52Whilst hidden away beside the increasingly bustling ball ring.
01:56Wow.
01:56Birmingham has got the biggest crowd of any city we've been to.
02:01Can we change your Brummie?
02:03Yay!
02:04We're Brummie!
02:06Do you think it's because they know Alison's here
02:09and that she's the queen of Birmingham?
02:12Lovely.
02:13Thanks for coming.
02:15The king's walking about here as well.
02:18It's all happening.
02:19But for our first performer...
02:21Hold on, where are we?
02:23..an even more important guest is in attendance.
02:26I'm back.
02:29My name is Chantal.
02:30I am 34 and I am from Birmingham.
02:33We get on great, don't we?
02:34We do.
02:34We do.
02:35Just tell them I'm your favourite.
02:36I'm going to get in trouble if I say she's the song.
02:39You'll blur her out. Just say it quick.
02:44Hi, Chantal.
02:45Hi, Barb.
02:46Oh, she's a local.
02:48You're a Brummie.
02:49I'm through and through.
02:50I feel it straight away.
02:51Sit down, Barb.
02:51So tell me about singing then.
02:53How did you get into singing?
02:54You know, singing was never my first love.
02:56I played football for years.
02:58No way.
02:59I played for Birmingham City for nearly ten years.
03:01Sure.
03:02Yes.
03:02It's got Anne-Marie, you know, she was world champion karate.
03:06Really?
03:06Three times in a row.
03:08No way.
03:08And then just became a singer.
03:10That's so sick.
03:13My family are big Birmingham City supporters, so it was always a privilege to wear the shirt.
03:18But I had to stop due to injury, which was really hard.
03:22That is when I think I started to sing.
03:26I'm very, very close to my Nan and Grandad.
03:30Me singing, I think it all kind of stems from their love for music.
03:34And getting me singing absolutely anywhere that there was a microphone.
03:38Hello, Grandad.
03:40How are you doing?
03:41Hello.
03:42She's nerve-wracking.
03:44Oh, hello, Grandad.
03:46You shouldn't have stuck him there.
03:50I am singing Run by Leona Lewis for my Grandad Roy.
03:55This has been our song for many, many years, and I want to sing it today in front of all
04:00of you, like, just to show you how much I love him.
04:03Chantal first performed Run for her Grandad over a decade ago.
04:07I said to you, I says, could you sing that for me?
04:11Okay, Grandad.
04:12And that was it.
04:13I know.
04:14Yeah, I'm filling up now, aren't I?
04:16My Grandad never really had asked me to sing a song specifically for him.
04:21I thought, well, this must mean something.
04:23I first heard it, and I thought, I like that.
04:26I like the lyrics when it comes to the part, light up.
04:29Yeah, that's the big thing. Light up my life.
04:31Yeah, I know, that's what you like to hear.
04:34That's what I like to hear.
04:36Chantal, she lights up my life.
04:40Oh, she's getting emotional, looking.
04:42Take a breath, babes, take a breath.
04:44A big breath.
04:44Do you want me to cover him up?
04:46Just close his eyes.
04:49I try not to look at him, because it just sends me off.
04:52Aww.
04:53If she looks at him in this song, she's done for.
05:00I'll sing it one last time for you.
05:08And then we really have to go.
05:14Nice slow vibrato.
05:15Oh, she's got real control, hasn't she?
05:18To think I might not see those eyes
05:24Makes it so hard not to cry
05:31Oh, look at him.
05:32Wow.
05:32How can you not be moved, man, just watching this?
05:41When I sang it the first time, and to see his reaction
05:50I'd never seen anything like that before.
05:52For him to be so emotional and so connected.
05:55That just gave us our own thing that I haven't got with anybody else.
06:01Oh, nice. Come on, Chantal.
06:09I've got goosebumps, man.
06:12She's amazing.
06:21I think she deserves a visit outside.
06:24You can't not. It's too good.
06:27Send them my love, please.
06:28I will.
06:41As the years go on, the song means more, really.
06:46Because I'm getting older, he's getting older.
06:49I just love my grandad.
06:51You're right beside you again.
07:03You're all right, grandad?
07:07Hello.
07:09You're amazing.
07:11We're all in tears, are you?
07:13Oh, that was so moving.
07:16It's really powerful, thank you.
07:18I think you don't credit yourself for your resilience.
07:21How you've achieved so much in one thing, got injured.
07:25But you're sitting on that talent at home.
07:28It's a testament to the fact that we might not have met the best singer in the world.
07:33They're all hiding out there, aren't they?
07:34Yeah.
07:35In Birmingham.
07:36Yeah, Birmingham, yeah, that's what it is.
07:44Our next performer hoping to light up Birmingham.
07:47My name is Lee.
07:48I am 34 years old.
07:49I'm from Cumberland, South Wales.
07:51Lee's about to bowl in here with the first moustache of the season as well.
07:55And that gives him points.
07:57Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:57We'll also be singing in dedication to their grandad.
08:01How you doing, Lee?
08:02What is your song today?
08:03My song is Nessun Dorma from the opera Turandot.
08:06Oh, I would never have said that you were going to do something like that.
08:09Oh, I'd love to be able to sing this.
08:10Why have you chosen that song?
08:12My grandfather was very important to me.
08:14He's no longer with us.
08:16He was such a warm and influential person in my life and still is today.
08:23Some of my fondest memories when I was young was being in the kitchen with him on a Friday.
08:27He would have a glass of whiskey and he would listen to his wireless and he loved the three tenors.
08:32And Nessun Dorma is one that he loved and I had no idea I could sing it.
08:36Until I was 26, I started lessons.
08:40I was in the Royal Navy.
08:42I had no idea I could sing.
08:43I was based in pretty much the middle of nowhere.
08:46It was quite boring on a weekend.
08:47And I found an adverts for singing lessons.
08:50And then the teacher was like,
08:51Well, your voice sounds quite operatic.
08:54Why don't you try it?
08:54By the way, really hard to even practice this style of singing.
08:58Like, so loud.
08:59You're going to mess up a bunch and you've got to be happy that everyone's going to hear it.
09:02My favourite place to actually practice, at the very front lower part of the ship, it's called the Folksel.
09:07It's basically like a metal cave.
09:09So the acoustics are like big and ringing.
09:11So I would go in there and people would walk in and they'd just be like,
09:14Oh, there's Lee again, doing his scales.
09:17I really like everything about this dude.
09:20He's so humble.
09:21Buzzing about this but quite nervous.
09:25Nessun Dorma, certainly one of the most difficult things to sing.
09:29You feel at once really powerful, but the most vulnerable you could ever feel as well.
09:46Nessun Dorma, nessun Dorma.
09:57You're the prince, you're the prince.
10:02In your freddy room.
10:06Look at the stars that will shine.
10:11He's got the gift. This is class.
10:14You're the spirit and hope.
10:20I'm blown away.
10:21Come on.
10:36He's smashing this.
10:38Oh!
10:39It's perfect!
10:40This is sick!
10:56I think about my grandad whenever I sing opera.
10:59It's a way I connect to him.
11:01So it does demand 100% emotional commitment.
11:04When you hear it done well, you can't help but get goosebumps,
11:07you can't help but tear up,
11:08because you can feel what they're saying without knowing what they're saying.
11:27Do you think, for me, this is our best this season classical vocal?
11:32100%, 100%.
11:33And this is it.
11:40Look at the joy in the audience!
11:42They're clapping! They're clapping!
11:44That is so brilliant!
11:48He's got the stoicism. Oh, I'd love to be able to do that.
11:51We have to go out. We have to go out.
11:55I would remember my grandad sipping his whisky, pretending to conduct,
11:59especially as the build-up comes for the big high B at the end.
12:03And when I sing it, I do think of that.
12:06This piece of music is so magical.
12:08When I hit that high B, he might be able to hear it,
12:12even though he's not here anymore.
12:16And when I sing it together.
12:32I'm not here.
12:35I'm not here.
12:37I'm not here in the world.
12:41I'm not here in the world.
12:42Oh, you've got to teach me.
12:44Hey, we'll trade it.
12:46We'll trade it.
12:48You literally, you've moved us all.
12:50Thank you so much.
12:53Go and see your fans, go on.
12:55Go and see your people.
12:59Grazie, grazie.
13:00I'm glad I was focusing just on the singing
13:02and not at all on the people in front, because...
13:05It was amazing!
13:06Thank you, thank you.
13:09I did just get tackled by Alison Hammond.
13:12Al, we call her in the biz.
13:20The Birmingham crowd is growing fast.
13:23This is crazy.
13:25Look how many people there are, man.
13:27So we're opening up the stage.
13:28For people like yourselves to just have a sing song.
13:32Giving members of the audience their chance.
13:34We could find our finalists now, Sam.
13:37Oh, that'd be amazing.
13:38To sing the songs that mean the most to them.
13:41The big pony club.
13:43I'm gonna keep on dancing at the big pony club.
13:47It's a great one to sing.
13:49You just sing your heart out.
13:50Get out all the emotions.
13:51I know it means so much to so many people.
13:58Bring in the energy, love it.
14:00Why, Sam?
14:01I love it because she's got the most confidence on stage
14:04that anyone has had so far.
14:06It's so great asking the nicest man in the world
14:09to accept anything negative at all.
14:14She's out of tune, isn't she, Sam?
14:16She's out of tune.
14:18She's out of tune.
14:23She's out of tune.
14:24I'm here for my hen-do.
14:27My head's a bit sore, but going straight to bottom
14:30as brunch after this.
14:32You can go get drunk.
14:34Yeah, you can go and enjoy your hen-do.
14:37Now go and get rotted.
14:39Your faith was strong, but you needed proof.
14:44You saw a bathing on the roof.
14:47Growing up, I started singing in church.
14:50Hallelujah has always been that song that connected for me.
14:53Oh, look, it's falsetto.
14:58Here he goes.
15:01Wow!
15:12Wow!
15:16That's amazing.
15:18That's standing ovation high note.
15:21Woo!
15:28Yeah, that was wicked jumping.
15:29Mad falsetto.
15:31Jonathan's missed his train to do this.
15:34I think you were meant to be here today.
15:36I think so, too.
15:37Go get your train.
15:37Go on, get your bag.
15:38Go out of here.
15:39Go on.
15:40You wouldn't miss your train if you thought
15:42maybe I'll be half good, would you?
15:45Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:46I'm just going to go and floor these people.
15:49While Jonathan runs to catch the next train to London.
15:53I'm Bob.
15:54I'm 72.
15:55I'm a retired building site manager.
15:58Our next performer's not had far to travel.
16:01I was born in Wolverhampton.
16:03So, technically, people in this area would call me a yam-yam.
16:08So, tell me, what are you singing today, Bob?
16:11I'm singing Let's Face the Music and Dance.
16:13Oh, yeah.
16:14What a beautiful tune.
16:16Who are you singing it for today?
16:17My late partner, Lynn.
16:19Aw, Lynn.
16:20We met in a mixed-voice choir.
16:22And we used to perform concerts.
16:25But in 2013, she was diagnosed with stage four devarium cancer.
16:30Oh, my gosh.
16:31So, we agreed that whatever came along, we'd face it together.
16:33And we spent the last nine months together
16:36trying to live as normal a life as we could.
16:39And that's really why I picked Let's Face a Really Good Dance.
16:43Have you got a picture?
16:43I have.
16:44Oh, I love that.
16:45Look at you with your coconut bra on.
16:48He's getting that out in a minute.
16:49I'm with a new lady now, Lillian.
16:52She lost her husband.
16:54How did you meet Lillian?
16:55We met on a New Year's Day walk.
16:58Yeah.
16:58And we just clicked.
16:59I think it was her back and my knees.
17:03He's had that in the pocket a while, hasn't he?
17:10There may be trouble ahead But while there's moonlight and music and love and romance
17:23Let's face the music and dance Before the fiddlers have fled
17:33Before they ask us to pay the bill While we still have the chance
17:42I like the sentiment.
17:44Yeah.
17:45I feel like the band's on fire.
17:47Yeah.
17:47But I have heard Better Delivery.
17:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:50I don't think this is about us analysing his vocal prowess.
17:55I just see someone who stood by someone in the darkest time of their life
18:00And they got to live out those last nine months the best they could
18:04Let's face the music and dance, dance
18:09Let's face the music and dance
18:14Go on and dance
18:16Wow, the crowd are loving it.
18:18He's a proper entertainer, isn't he?
18:20He is, yeah.
18:22Let's face the music and dance
18:37Yes, Bob!
18:39How are you doing?
18:40You all right?
18:41Isn't it amazing, him sharing that story that could be so crushingly sad
18:46Has brought so much joy.
18:48We were dancing.
18:49That was amazing.
18:51I know.
18:51We enjoyed that.
18:52We loved that.
18:52Did you enjoy it though?
18:53No.
18:55It's the healing of music again.
18:58Yeah.
18:59Unforgettable
19:01Next to take the stage is someone also singing in memory of a loved one.
19:06And this is mum.
19:07And I know she's with you.
19:09She is.
19:09All of the way.
19:10She loved this song.
19:11She did.
19:12So you sing it for her?
19:13I am.
19:13Yeah, thank you.
19:15Unforgettable
19:17My name's Kyron.
19:18I'm 39 years of age.
19:19And I'm singing the song that I wrote called Good Lord.
19:21She was there every single moment and every show.
19:25On her feet, singing.
19:28The song now holds a different meaning because my mum passed away last year.
19:32The last time she saw me perform, she gave me a big hug and told me,
19:35that is my favourite song from you and I just want you to get the song out there to the
19:40world.
19:40And, you know, hopefully they can hear it.
19:42Give it up for Marcus and Kyron.
19:45Hold her eyes.
19:46Hold her eyes.
19:47Hear it.
19:48It's a joy, everybody.
19:50I remember writing and performing my first song in my primary school assembly.
19:54Then you watch your ears open and fly.
19:58You're the sun breaking the floor down.
20:01From then on, I knew it was something I always wanted to do.
20:04My mum was a singer.
20:06She was in a group called Royal Blood.
20:09She had a hit single called Slippin' Away with my auntie.
20:14I was in my mum's womb while she was touring.
20:17It's an inspiration to see him performing.
20:20It's hard to me.
20:21It means everything that is over stood for.
20:25Please welcome to this stage, Kyron.
20:31I'm going to be nervous.
20:33I'm going to be, you know, scared.
20:35I do feel a little vulnerable, a little bit naked.
20:38But also, I know my mum will be there with me to help guide me through that.
20:45Oh, I see the light shining down on me.
20:53Oh, I feel the wind whistle on my cheek.
21:01Oh, drifting on by.
21:05Oh, I don't know how I feel.
21:10And I feel, ooh, mm.
21:21Good Lord.
21:23Ha!
21:24Good Lord.
21:28Good Lord.
21:33Good Lord.
21:33Good Lord.
21:38Oh, my God, he could just sing the fame book, couldn't he?
21:43I performed this song at my mum's funeral.
21:45Since that moment, something clicked in me.
21:47I feel like every time I sing, I'm, you know, connecting to her spirit more.
21:51Good Lord.
21:56Deep in my soul, I know I'll be alright.
22:03My mum was known and revered for her singing.
22:07I feel like my purpose is to now basically continue her legacy so that my children can continue mine
22:13and we can continue the founding name and legacy for forever I may.
22:17But I'll keep standing.
22:30He's very versatile.
22:32He's got everything in it, this song, hasn't he?
22:34Yeah, sick.
22:34I love the tune.
22:35Get this song with me!
22:38Go!
22:45Go!
22:48No!
22:50No!
22:50No!
22:51No!
22:52No!
22:53Thank you, everyone.
22:54Thank you so much.
23:00Go you, Monko.
23:11I love what he's trying to say lyrically,
23:19really beautifully articulated by him.
23:24Just made me sort of reflect on my own
23:27relationship with my mum.
23:31You're a big mum.
23:32I'm so floored by Birmingham as well
23:35because it's really difficult not to just
23:37want everyone to go
23:39through.
23:41I love that the crowd are enjoying
23:43it so much. Adopt us,
23:45Alison. What's my daughter's
23:47name? I've got Holly.
23:49And Keeva. And Keeva, my two new
23:51daughters. I've adopted them.
23:54Get yourself
23:55home and go and do the washing up. Go on.
23:57Get yourself, go and do the washing up.
24:03Next to perform on the Birmingham stage
24:05is someone with a growing family
24:07of their own.
24:08I feel the bum there.
24:10Looking like mad this morning.
24:12Thinking tell I'm a little bit nervous.
24:15She's pregnant.
24:16Yeah, how do you think that's going to affect her?
24:17Well at the end you can't really breathe
24:19because all your lungs are squawk.
24:21You get more prone to getting out of breath.
24:23Yeah. Hi everybody, my name's Hannah.
24:26I'm going to be singing Tennessee
24:27Whiskey for you today. Before
24:29my lovely son was born I
24:31was struggling with alcohol addiction
24:33and he then became the only thing
24:35I ever needed ever again.
24:37Sometimes people think that we
24:39raise our children but in some ways
24:41they raise her. Hmm.
24:49Oh, she's got a lovely voice, hasn't she?
25:03When my dad passed away I was really struggling.
25:05He was my best friend
25:07and it just was my mechanism
25:10for coping at the time.
25:11I was drinking every day.
25:13I was basically a functional alcoholic
25:14and I couldn't see an end.
25:17But you rescued me
25:18from reaching for the bottom.
25:21She's singing that to her song.
25:22You rescued me from reaching for the bottom.
25:24Because there's nothing
25:26like your love
25:28Say get me high
25:30Yeah
25:32I hope it's sweet
25:34None of that breathlessness exists here.
25:37Yeah.
25:37And it's Tennessee whiskey
25:40Oh nice
25:42And you're best sweet
25:46The strawberry wine
25:50Then I fell pregnant
25:52Stopped everything there and then
25:53When I first heard the song
25:56it resonated so deeply with me
25:58because this is how I feel about my son.
26:14Most supportive mum of the season
26:16award has been won.
26:18Love the mum.
26:19Yeah.
26:23On your love all the time.
26:33That was amazing.
26:36Did you enjoy that?
26:38He was transfixed.
26:40Sobriety is really difficult to achieve
26:42and it takes strength.
26:44Come here.
26:44And I feel like that reflects in her voice
26:48that she's got strength in her voice.
26:50Take that lovely bundle of fun.
26:52I will.
26:53And have a lovely life with me someone as well.
26:56I'm so happy for you.
26:57And this is one of those cases where a song has like almost saved someone.
27:02Yeah.
27:03Cause now I'm free.
27:10The Your Song stage is in Birmingham.
27:12The birthplace of heavy metal.
27:15I'm Dani, I'm 25 and I'm from Manchester.
27:18This is Dani looking like a rock star if I ever saw one.
27:22Hello.
27:23How you doing?
27:24Lovely to meet you.
27:26Trying to guess what this could be.
27:28It could be War Pigs, Black Sabbath.
27:30I hope it's Congratulations by Cliff Richard.
27:32It totally shocks us.
27:33It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.
27:37So what are you singing today?
27:39I'm singing Bible Black by Heaven and Hell.
27:41So a little bit of heavy metal.
27:43Wow.
27:43That takes me by surprise.
27:45So it's Black Sabbath instrumentally with Ronnie James Dio on vocals.
27:49Wow.
27:50He's regarded as probably like the godfather of heavy metal vocalists.
27:54Big boots to fill.
27:55Yeah, yeah.
27:56Big time.
27:56And what do you do?
27:57What's your job?
27:57I'm a music teacher.
27:59Oh, amazing.
28:00So who have you been teaching?
28:01I've just started primary school teaching.
28:03Lovely.
28:03They're so cute.
28:04Oh my God.
28:07OK, we're going to start with a warm up.
28:12I always wanted to do music.
28:14I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life.
28:19When I'm teaching, there's very much a filter over everything.
28:23I have to be professional and family friendly
28:26and polite all the time.
28:29But I'm very different on stage.
28:32I've switched as flips.
28:40And suddenly I am who I need to be in that moment.
28:43I shout and scream pretty much everything.
28:47I can just let loose and be myself completely.
28:50If I get on stage and can absolutely just scream into the void for an hour, it just...
28:56It's like therapy.
28:57I feel so cleansed afterwards.
29:01I got a bit dizzy then.
29:05Are you dad?
29:07Yeah.
29:07Partner.
29:08We need to meet you.
29:10So I'm normally up here with my band and they're like my best friends so I'm feeling a bit naked
29:14and bare without them.
29:15Ali is down there.
29:16He's in the band as well.
29:17So he's going to be feeling really awkward watching me and not being able to join in.
29:21You are dependent on your band around you to play in this genre.
29:27That's a test of your comfort zone for sure.
29:43My partner Ali introduced me to the song.
29:45It's about reaching out for something that you think is going to be your salvation but it actually turns out
29:50to be your doom.
29:52Before I was with Ali, I was in quite a difficult relationship and it just resonated with me so deeply.
29:57You're down for one, put it back.
30:00You're reading from the Bible place.
30:04The band's loving it.
30:06I love she's got them with her.
30:08She's got her back.
30:09Look at this, so cool.
30:10What's this world I see?
30:12Who are you and who are me?
30:16Maybe I'll just stumble in the know.
30:20It's sick.
30:22Let me know, I see it really dead.
30:26But the light is never blue.
30:31Take me back.
30:33I must have the Bible place.
30:38Whoa!
30:39The growliness, the love.
30:42Rawr!
30:43Yeah.
30:43You're hiding in the pages.
30:45But you may not come back.
30:49You're reading from the Bible place.
30:53And you may not, who's three moves in the way.
31:03Wow.
31:04That was so good.
31:06And to get on stage with a band that you've never really met,
31:10I'm buzzing for her.
31:11I was a bit worried about going on with a new band,
31:13but they made me feel so comfortable and, like, they were just in it.
31:18A million-dollar question, did they rock out with you?
31:20They did rock out with me, yeah.
31:24I really don't know who's going to win today.
31:26They got right up front, they were headbanging,
31:28they gathered at one edge doing the Judas Priest thing all together.
31:32It was so cool.
31:38Can you see her? Come over here, come over here.
31:40There's Alison, how can you see her?
31:43Nice to meet you. Thank you.
31:44You'll see her better in a little bit.
31:46My name is Jen, I'm from Coventry, I'm 40 years old,
31:49and I'm singing Teardrop by Massive Attack.
31:51A few years ago now, when my nephew was five years old,
31:55he was diagnosed with cancer.
31:56Gideon, excited to watch. Yeah.
31:59When my nephew was going through his treatment, when I sung Teardrop,
32:03it felt like a combination of anger and sadness.
32:07And I was just so fortunate that I had access to music,
32:11to other people's poetry.
32:13I could never come up with those kind of words,
32:15but, you know, people better than me have,
32:17and I can just use them.
32:18I think it's one of the strongest things about music.
32:21Good luck.
32:25You're kidding.
32:26People really just are so enduring, so resilient.
32:30Yeah. You wouldn't have a clue, would you?
32:32No.
32:36I think she's going to be very good by that little warm-up
32:38she's just done there.
32:39Checking their voices. Yeah.
32:40Please welcome to the stage, it's Jen.
32:47I was in a rock band years and years ago.
32:49It's actually where I met my husband,
32:50and it was a Birmingham-based thing,
32:52so I already have this real connection with music in Birmingham.
32:55And for my nephew, he actually had most of his treatment done
32:57at the Birmingham Children's Hospital,
32:59so I get to sing this song and to my family as well.
33:01Oh, I think it's going to be incredibly special.
33:31It's really ethereal, isn't it?
33:34Yeah.
33:34It's really ethereal, isn't it?
33:37It's really ethereal, isn't it?
33:45It's really ethereal.
33:47It's really ethereal, isn't it?
33:55It's really ethereal, isn't it?
33:57It's really ethereal, isn't it?
33:59It's really ethereal, isn't it?
34:00It's really ethereal so they should meet and they should have
34:00not just heard of it.
34:04You know, I think that it's an eyewitness.
34:07And so I get to sing, that, right?
34:14You've got to ring the bell.
34:17Come on Indian, have a good ring.
34:20Yeah!
34:25Now singing teardrop feels triumph.
34:29I know I can't swear but it feels a bit like Gideon won.
34:34He won.
34:37A beautiful mirror, fearless of my breath.
34:44She's amazing.
34:48She really is.
34:50She knows her voice, she knows the pocket that that vocal sits in.
34:55And where it really reaches people the most.
34:57And that's a skill in itself as a singer.
34:59Yeah.
35:07Wow.
35:09Oh I've got goosebumps.
35:10Yeah.
35:11It's something but all.
35:21Yeah.
35:27That was stunning.
35:28Are you alright?
35:30Are you getting emotional?
35:31Are you getting emotional?
35:34It's been a long couple of years.
35:37I could see this voice at the final because it's a really moving and intimate vocal performance.
35:48Oh my gosh, I'm going, I'm going to lose it here.
35:52That's a lot.
35:53Thank you so much.
35:58Paloma, big deal here.
36:00This is our very last singer.
36:02Of the series.
36:04I know, of the series.
36:05What an amazing experience.
36:07And I just feel like so privileged to have met all these amazing people who've shared their stories with us.
36:13It's like a career highlight for me actually.
36:15And I'm not just saying that because Channel 4 are paying me.
36:20Okay, our next singer, singing in her mother language, Farsi.
36:25Please welcome, Mina.
36:31My name is Mina, I'm 43 years old and I've been living in the UK for 14 years now.
36:39We want to make tachin today, very popular Persian dish.
36:45I was born after the Islamic revolution in Iran.
36:48In Iran, women marched in support of a modern identity, the right to do any job, to dress in modern
36:55clothes.
36:56There was a lot of oppression and women are banned from singing in public.
37:02I had to fillet the country.
37:04I had to become refugee in the UK because my voice was taken away from me.
37:10You can see that devastation in my look, that sadness.
37:15Singing has always been therapeutic.
37:18She uses singing as a medium to just reach out with her emotions,
37:23reflects her experience in her past and everything else.
37:28I'm going to sing a song named Chobam Yobidaram, which means,
37:34Am I awake or am I dreaming?
37:37By Gugush, who's an Iranian singer.
37:40Gugush was in exile in her own country at the time.
37:45So she wasn't allowed to sing.
37:47Her voice was taken away from her.
37:50This is one of the first songs that I learned.
37:53This brings so many memories.
37:55I used to play this when I was 11.
37:57I listened to this song secretly.
38:01Listening to a female singer was considered haram or seen or forbidden legally.
38:06How could something this beautiful, so rich and meaningful be forbidden in any part of this world?
38:16I've never performed this for a big audience.
38:19It was always my family and friends and classmates.
38:23So this is first time.
38:24When I sing this song, I always get emotional.
38:29I feel that this is not just my voice.
38:34I feel that pressure, that weight on my shoulders, that responsibility.
38:41Singing was always, throughout my life, was more than music.
38:47It was an act of rebellion.
38:51Wow.
38:52Wow.
38:53Hope.
38:54This is for women.
38:56And to the life and freedom that music gives us.
39:04You can put those words to a melody.
39:06That's the song, isn't it?
39:07Mate, she hasn't even sung a note yet.
39:09I'm just that in bits.
39:10Absolutely absorbed.
39:11I know.
39:26I know.
39:27I know.
39:29I know.
39:30I know.
39:30I know.
39:30I know.
39:31I know.
39:32I know.
39:32I know.
39:33I know.
39:37I know.
39:38I know.
39:38I know.
39:40I know.
39:42I know.
39:47This is insanely good.
39:50It's so beautiful, isn't it?
40:12This is incredible.
40:14There's no point in even talking about...
40:17Like, she's flawless, man.
40:21Stories, incredible, filth, everything.
40:29See all her hand gestures?
40:31Yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:32It's so captivating.
40:33She is using her body, her voice, to channel that message.
40:37People in the audience are feeling that tale being told
40:40and connecting with it.
40:42Without a mutual language?
40:45Yeah.
40:46I think we need to go out.
40:47Let's listen, I see
40:50So...
40:53Yes!
40:55I don't know!
40:57This is a celebrity song.
40:58He is, you're aonglion.
41:02You'll leave the country first.
41:11You know what Love is.
41:17I have been doing my research.
41:27We're really privileged to hear your words and see the way you perform, sorry, over there.
41:37And I'm so proud to be a woman standing next to you.
41:40You make me feel so like it's the best thing to be in the world.
41:45I feel like I'm going to fame. It felt so surreal.
41:51When you grow up in Iran in that very oppressive era and then you come to freedom, to free worlds
41:57and you can do whatever you want.
41:59You can become yourself, which is the most beautiful gift that this country has given me.
42:12I don't know about you, but Birmingham delivered today, didn't it?
42:15I'm blown away.
42:17Mate, I love how eclectic Birmingham's musical history is, was reflected in people jumping up on that stage today.
42:24You had heavy metal.
42:29You've got opera.
42:37Mina singing in Farsi.
42:43We were all unanimously moved. Her voice was breathtaking. Her message was breathtaking.
42:50It was amazing.
42:51We felt it, didn't we?
42:53Yeah. But there was one person in particular that moved me more than anyone and that was Jenny.
43:04It was just something about her voice.
43:06Everything was just right, wasn't it?
43:08Yeah.
43:08And then a special mention to Chantel.
43:11Oh, my Brummie queen.
43:16Her voice.
43:18Beautiful. Everything she does seems to be kind of pretty up their level.
43:22God was just like, there you are. Football. You got it. No Rose singing.
43:25Everything.
43:25Give her all the cards.
43:28Right, guys. Look across this way.
43:30The standard was so high.
43:32You want to put pretty much everyone that sang in Birmingham through to the final.
43:37I know.
43:37This is 100% the hardest choice of all the cities we've been to.
43:41What are you going to do? We need to choose one person. What are you going to do? Are you
43:43going to choose?
43:44This might be the night we don't sleep afterwards.
43:47So tough.
43:53Oh, so good to see you.
43:57Birmingham, what can I say? You did the city proud.
44:01Thank you so much for having the courage to share your stories.
44:05As you know, you haven't just been performing for the wonderful crowds of Birmingham.
44:09You've also been performing for two superstars, Paloma Faith and Sam Ryder.
44:14Come on.
44:16Go.
44:17How's it going?
44:18How's it going?
44:19How's it going?
44:22You all did so amazingly.
44:24Birmingham has been a standout city.
44:27Every one of you could be in the final.
44:30The standard was so high.
44:33First of all, it's just been amazing to bear witness to.
44:37Such an amazing group of souls.
44:39And we feel all incredibly lucky that we get to share this moment with you.
44:44Only one of you, though, can perform at the final.
44:48That person is going to be...
44:56Meena.
44:59Come forward.
45:01Come to the makeup.
45:02Come here, darling.
45:03Come on.
45:04You're amazing.
45:05I didn't expect that at all.
45:07We can have a big group of you.
45:09Oh, my God.
45:12Meena had what we were looking for the moment she stood on that stage and opened her vocal
45:18chords, which were exceptional, and delivered that song to us.
45:21It was beyond singing.
45:23It was beyond the story.
45:24It was about protest and women's right to have their voice.
45:29And she certainly had her voice today.
45:31What you brought to that stage was more than just your voice.
45:34But it was everything else.
45:35Thank you so much.
45:37You should be really proud.
45:38I root for Meena.
45:40I feel every word she says, even though I don't understand a single one of them.
45:44How amazing is that?
45:51I'm singing today.
45:52Probably the biggest moment of my life where I'm given this platform to share my message
45:57about women empowerment, the power of music, the magic that can happen when human beings
46:05connect.
46:05I didn't expect that.
46:06That's what I mean.
46:07I will go home.
46:09I will go home.
46:14Yes, Birmingham!
46:17Chantelle.
46:18Next time...
46:20No, you're joking.
46:21Mina is joined by the other finalists.
46:23Finlay.
46:28Getting down to business in the studio...
46:30At the end of that song, I want to hear you tear that knot apart.
46:35Guided by Sam and Paloma.
46:37I haven't actually seen her get through a song yet without crying.
46:41And joined by a last-minute addition.
46:44Okay, I'm about to phone the wild card.
46:47Oh, wow.
46:48In preparation for the performance.
46:50It's going, my voice is going.
46:52Of a lifetime.
46:53She absolutely needs to be quiet or she's not going to have any voice tomorrow.
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