Ardú Win Over Will.i.am On The Voice UK
By WILL .I. AM
TURNS CHAIR FOR IRISH A CAPELLA GROUP ARDÚ ON THE VOICE UK
Watch The Voice UK on Virgin Media One, Virgin Media Play, ITV1 or the ITVX player.
Irish a cappella ensemble Ardú appeared on the new series (S14) of The Voice UK yesterday evening (Saturday, September 19th) for their blind audition – earning a chair turn from American artist and record producer will.i.am.
The group move forward to the ‘Battle Rounds’, and will compete directly against one fellow contestant for the chance to earn their place in the semi-final.
The next episode’s air date has not yet been revealed, leaving fans in high anticipation. The six-piece vocal group is the largest act to ever compete on the UK version of the series to date. The ensemble performed a mashup of Doechii’s ‘Anxiety’ and Gotye‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ to judges Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones (sharing a double chair), and Kelly Rowland, ultimately earning a turn from will.i.am for their captivating performance.
An internationally recognised ensemble, Ardú have represented Ireland in festivals and competitions across Europe, including Solala Festival Germany (Audience Award winners 2026), Tampere Vocal in Finland, the Edinburgh Fringe festival, vokal.total in Austria (Audience Award winners 2019) and mostly recently, Vocal Champs Germany, winning this year’s audience prize on September 12th.
Their national accolades are equally as extensive: First prize at the RTÉ Lyric FM Choirs for Christmas competition in 2018, first place at the National Vocal Ensemble competition at the City of Derry International Choral Festival in 2015, and first place in the ‘Light, Jazz and Popular Music’ category at the Cork International Choral Festival in 2017.
Featured on the Ray Darcy Show (RTÉ RADIO 1), Classical Connections (BBC Radio Ulster), Marty in The Morning (RTÉ Lyric FM) and BBC Proms (2021), Ardú’s appearance on The Voice UK is not the ensemble’s first television appearance. A past lineup of the group competed in the a cappella-reality competition Sing: Ultimate A Cappella on Sky One in 2017.
The lineup as seen on The Voice UK is composed of ensemble co-director Filip Klubička, a Croatian native (and of The Three Tenors Ireland), co-director Victoria Warwick (of ANÚNA Collective), Judith Lyons (of Dulciana Vocal Ensemble, St. Patrick’s and Christ Church Cathedrals, Cantairí Óga Átha Cliath, The Lir and ANÚNA Collective), Sorcha Fenlon (of ANÚNA Collective), Andy Dempsey (of Billow Wood and ANÚNA Collective) and Ryan Garnham (of M’ANAM and ANÚNA).
As ambassadors of the contemporary a cappella genre in Ireland, in 2017 Ardú founded the Irish International A Cappella Festival, and have released three studio albums to date: Gravity (2018), LIVE (2020) and Songs from Here (2022). Their most recent album was nominated for a CARA (Contemporary Acappella Recording Award) and selected as runner-up in the category of ‘Best European Album’, while the music video for single ‘I Wouldn’t Be’ was nominated for an AVA (Acappella Video Award) as ‘Best Video by a Professional Group’. In 2019, their single ‘Homeward Bound’ was also nominated for ‘Best Classical/Folk Song’.
Ardú play The Whale Theatre, Co. Wicklow on October 30th, Púca Festival, Trim on October 31st and the dlr Mill Theatre, Dublin on November 1st.
Tickets and more information available from ardumusic.com The Voice UK can be viewed on Virgin Media One, Virgin Media Play, ITV1 and the ITVX player.