Supermarket worker Stacey Leadbeatter has come a long way to appear on the ITV talent show – and had to retrain her voice due to a speech impediment
Stacey Leadbeatter, this year’s show-stopping golden buzzer winner on Britain’s Got Talent, opened up about a hidden struggle that makes her triumph even more extraordinary. While most were unaware, the remarkable supermarket worker had only performed once before dazzling BGT judges—owing to a speech impediment she was determined to overcome.
Mum-of-one Stacey, at 29, details her rigorous journey: “It is extremely hard,” she conceded. “I have a video of me singing from four or five years ago and you couldn’t actually understand properly what I was singing due to the severity of speech impediments. So during lockdown I used to do is I used to sit through like adult speech therapy sessions on YouTube and then I’d introduced it into my singing.”
Despite progress, Stacey must constantly tend to her vocal skills. Recalling her Leeds upbringing, she admits how bullying over her condition made school a difficult period, saying, “In high school I used to stutter a bit and people would mimic me,” with a candid reflection on her past challenges.
Stacey revealed the harsh criticism she’s faced has only fuelled her ambition, a statement she solidified with a stunning performance on last night’s BGT. Captivating judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Alesha Dixon, she earned herself a standing ovation with her powerful delivery of Snow Patrol’s Run as covered by Leona Lewis, reports The Mirror.
Internet sensation KSI was so impressed he awarded her his golden buzzer. Before BGT, Stacey had only performed to a modest crowd at a local pub and shunned singing at weddings or parties due to nerves and self-doubt.
Opening up about her decision to take the plunge into auditions, she explained: “I sing on TikTok and people said I needed to apply. When the opportunity came up, I though it’s now or never. It’s always been a dream of mine to sing in front of Simon Cowell because I’ve watched him since we were a little girl. I’ve always wanted to impress him.”
Her passion for music began young, inspired by watching Grease with her mum, and practising non-stop after getting a karaoke machine at 10 years old. Despite her talent, Stacey admits she’s too timid to perform for her customers at the cafe where she works, located in Booths supermarket near her home in Keighley.
Stacey, who recently received a golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent, has opened up about her shyness and lack of confidence when it comes to singing outside the show. Despite requests to perform at weddings and parties, she admits to making excuses: “I don’t sing to them, I’m actually really shy. I just don’t have the confidence.
“I’ve had people like message me asking me to sing at the weddings and at parties. I just make excuses like I don’t have the right equipment. I overthink about what people think of me. But now I’ve done the scariest thing in the world and I’m working on my confidence. It’s just about retraining your brain. I think the confidence will hopefully come with the Britain’s Got Talent performance.”
Her personal life is also flourishing; Stacey got engaged to her childhood friend Richard after reconnecting as adults.
She fondly recalls their history: “I’ve known him since I was 17,” she beamed. “We’ve always been with other people, but had that connection there and never acted on it. And then we both became single last year and we decided to meet up to see if that connection’s still there and it clearly is. He proposed to me on his birthday this year in front of his family and his children.”
The couple is planning their wedding for 2027, and Richard, the “He’s the proudest fiance. He’ll listen to me sing all the time and we love a karaoke night.”, enjoys listening to Stacey sing, especially during karaoke nights.
Stacey, now revelling in happiness, hasn’t always had an easy journey as she raised her 10 year old daughter Aaralyn on her own. “I’ve done it pretty much on my own, me and her dad broke up when she was one,” Stacey recounts.
She continued to share the challenges she faced with relationships along the way: “I’ve had a couple relationships between, but unfortunately the men weren’t so kind to me. So it’s pretty much been me and my daughter the whole time. She’s everything to me. She’s my little biggest fan. We sing the Whitney Houston song I Will Always Love You together, it’s our song.”
Reflecting on tough times from two years back, Stacey is optimistic about what lies ahead. She said: “If you’d have told 2023 me what’s happening now, I wouldn’t have believed it. I had some personal things going on. I just didn’t deal with them very well and I was in a bad place. Now I’m newly engaged and on BGT. It’s mad.”
With aspirations of reaching the West End, Stacey’s ultimate dream is to bring joy through her singing: “Just being able to sing on a stage in front of people and making people happy with my voice, that’s all I want,” she declares.
