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<\/p>\nSupermarket worker Stacey Leadbeatter has come a long way to appear on the ITV talent show \u2013 and had to retrain her voice due to a speech impediment<\/p>\n
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Stacey Leadbeatter, this year\u2019s show-stopping golden buzzer winner on Britain\u2019s 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\u2014owing to a speech impediment she was determined to overcome.<\/p>\n
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Mum-of-one Stacey, at 29, details her rigorous journey: \u201cIt is extremely hard,\u201d she conceded. \u201cI have a video of me singing from four or five years ago and you couldn\u2019t 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\u2019d introduced it into my singing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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, \u201cIn high school I used to stutter a bit and people would mimic me,\u201d with a candid reflection on her past challenges.<\/p>\n
Stacey revealed the harsh criticism she\u2019s faced has only fuelled her ambition, a statement she solidified with a stunning performance on last night\u2019s BGT. Captivating judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Alesha Dixon, she earned herself a standing ovation with her powerful delivery of Snow Patrol\u2019s Run as covered by Leona Lewis, reports The Mirror.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Opening up about her decision to take the plunge into auditions, she explained: \u201cI sing on TikTok and people said I needed to apply. When the opportunity came up, I though it\u2019s now or never. It\u2019s always been a dream of mine to sing in front of Simon Cowell because I\u2019ve watched him since we were a little girl. I\u2019ve always wanted to impress him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s too timid to perform for her customers at the cafe where she works, located in Booths supermarket near her home in Keighley.<\/p>\n
Stacey, who recently received a golden buzzer on Britain\u2019s 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: \u201cI don\u2019t sing to them, I\u2019m actually really shy. I just don\u2019t have the confidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had people like message me asking me to sing at the weddings and at parties. I just make excuses like I don\u2019t have the right equipment. I overthink about what people think of me. But now I\u2019ve done the scariest thing in the world and I\u2019m working on my confidence. It\u2019s just about retraining your brain. I think the confidence will hopefully come with the Britain\u2019s Got Talent performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Her personal life is also flourishing; Stacey got engaged to her childhood friend Richard after reconnecting as adults.<\/p>\n She fondly recalls their history: \u201cI\u2019ve known him since I was 17,\u201d she beamed. \u201cWe\u2019ve 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\u2019s still there and it clearly is. He proposed to me on his birthday this year in front of his family and his children.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple is planning their wedding for 2027, and Richard, the \u201cHe\u2019s the proudest fiance. He\u2019ll listen to me sing all the time and we love a karaoke night.\u201d, enjoys listening to Stacey sing, especially during karaoke nights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Stacey, now revelling in happiness, hasn\u2019t always had an easy journey as she raised her 10 year old daughter Aaralyn on her own. \u201cI\u2019ve done it pretty much on my own, me and her dad broke up when she was one,\u201d Stacey recounts.<\/p>\n She continued to share the challenges she faced with relationships along the way: \u201cI\u2019ve had a couple relationships between, but unfortunately the men weren\u2019t so kind to me. So it\u2019s pretty much been me and my daughter the whole time. She\u2019s everything to me. She\u2019s my little biggest fan. We sing the Whitney Houston song I Will Always Love You together, it\u2019s our song.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on tough times from two years back, Stacey is optimistic about what lies ahead. She said: \u201cIf you\u2019d have told 2023 me what\u2019s happening now, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it. I had some personal things going on. I just didn\u2019t deal with them very well and I was in a bad place. Now I\u2019m newly engaged and on BGT. It\u2019s mad.\u201d<\/p>\n With aspirations of reaching the West End, Stacey\u2019s ultimate dream is to bring joy through her singing: \u201cJust being able to sing on a stage in front of people and making people happy with my voice, that\u2019s all I want,\u201d she declares.<\/p>\n![\"Stacey](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/20\/1200x712\/secondary\/5992961.avif?r=1740867809379\" "\\"Stacey")
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