THE first thing Conor Davis did when he found out he’d made the cut for Louis Walsh’s newest boy band was to phone his granny and grandad in Skibbereen.
That’s Donie and Eileen Davis.
‘My grandad is actually an incredibly talented musician and I think it rubbed off on me,’ said the 19 year old.
His grandparents were also the first people he phoned after he performed with the band, ‘Next In Line’, on a recent Late Late Show.
‘They’ve always encouraged me to sing. Skibbereen is like my second home, really,’ he said.
As well as coming from a family steeped in music, he’s also from a strong sporting family with the Davis’, and his uncles Tony and Don, needing little introduction in West Cork GAA circles.
Conor, who grew up playing football for Clontarf, said he’s always liked to sing but sport was number one growing up.
But when he saw a call-out for auditions for the band around this time last year, he figured he’d give it a go.
He made it through various rounds, and was in the last 22 in February.
‘To be honest I had so little expectation that I wasn’t even that nervous, and when I got through, I couldn’t believe it!’ he said.
For now he’s deferred the second year of his business economic and social studies in Trinity to focus on the band.
They’ve already got more than 20 songs ready to go, a lot of which they’ve written, or co-written.
‘I think people assume that we’re going to be just like ‘Westlife’ but we’re not,’ he said.
There’s lot of speculation that the band will be releasing a single at Christmas in a bid to reach the coveted number one spot in the charts for the festive period.
‘We’ve lots going on right now, and we can’t rule anything out!’ said Conor.
