‘Seeing Heidi on stage was an incredible feeling'

The Voice Kids sensation Heidi Katona and mum Kerry on tears, tantrums and the making of a little star

- SARAH MORTON

The star of this week’s shoot is a multi-talented performer with the voice of an angel, who’s gained an army of fans thanks to her sparkling stage presence and unwavering charisma – and no, we’re not talking about Kerry Katona. As much as we love our columnist, after watching her daughter Heidi on The Voice Kids last Saturday night, the youngster has totally overtaken Kez in our affections.

The 13-year-old took to the stage on the ITV show to sing a cover of Macy Gray’s hit I Try and instantly had the mentors in the palm of her hands. Will.i.am, Danny Jones and Paloma Faith all spun their chairs round to indicate they wanted little Heidi on their team, despite the fact that just minutes earlier the youngster was in floods of tears backstage. So what exactly happened?

Well, according to Heidi and her mum, the teenager’s anxiety reared its ugly head just minutes before the cameras started rolling, threatening to derail her audition.

Fans watched in shock as Heidi came out with puffy eyes and red cheeks, leaving Kerry, 39, “distraught” at the thought of her third eldest daughter having a meltdown on stage.

Thankfully, as viewers saw, Heidi got past her nerves, picked Paloma as her mentor and emerged more confident than ever. Now she’ll take on the Battle Rounds as the competition continues.