Lurgan woman, Niamh Murray (24), beat almost fifty other entrants to win BOOST’s Busker Corner Stage competition. As part of its, There’s a BOOST for That campaign, BOOST began a search during the summer, looking for musical talent from across Northern Ireland.
Ten potential stars were chosen to perform on BOOST’s Busker Corner Stage but only one could take home the prize which included airtime on a national radio station and a recording studio session worth £1000.
The talent search is very important to BOOST, explained Amy Ankrah, Brand Manager, BOOST.
“BOOST’s Busker Corner stage, presented by BOOST Energy, champions up-and-coming performers who are looking for a leg up in the music industry. It’s a competition that’s very close to our hearts in BOOST. This year’s entries were of an exceptionally high standard, so it was hard to whittle it down to the ten finalists. Performing on BOOST’s Busker Corner Stage is a huge opportunity for these wonderful singers, performers and musicians so even if they didn’t win, they still got to showcase their talents to a huge audience.”
The winner of BOOST’s Busker Corner competition, Niamh Murray, from Lurgan, explained how her path to music was almost kicked into touch.
Niamh said: “When I was at school, I was sure that I wanted to be a professional footballer. I was on the NI Football Career Development Team from 14 to 16. Music however was never far from my mind; in fact, I couldn’t go a day without picking up a guitar or belting out a tune.”
In time, it became clear that Niamh’s path was to be music. “From the age of two, I was always singing, but I didn’t believe that I’d be able to make a career out of it. It seemed more of a dream rather than something I could achieve.
“During Covid, I started posting some of my videos online. My videos were shared around Lurgan and as a result of the exposure, I started to get some paid gigs in local clubs and bars. It was then that I realised I could do music full time and so I left my job working in Iceland to pursue my passion for music. I went from stacking shelves to singing my heart out doing what I love the most.”, said Niamh.
Niamh’s family, mum and Dad, Rosie and Tony, her sisters Eimear and Cliodhna (28), brother Fionn (19), and her much loved Granny, Shelagh (82), are Niamh’s biggest supporters.
“People think it’s a hobby, but I literally eat, sleep and breathe music. I wouldn’t be where I am now, if the people of Lurgan, and then across Northern Ireland, didn’t watch, share and interact with my videos. So I would like to urge everyone to get behind local musicians. Local talent can be overlooked. Share their songs, listen to them and go watch people play live, trust me, we appreciate it.”
Niamh, who cites Joni Mitchell and Prince as her musical inspiration, continued: “I never expected to win but I’m so thankful to BOOST who have helped me realise a long-held dream of making a demo in a professional studio where I had so many instruments available to me. It’s been a whirlwind since winning the title and I am so energised and even more passionate about succeeding in my music career than ever before.”
Amy concluded: “Our incredible winner, Niamh Murray, stole our hearts with her fantastic voice and we are delighted that she now gets to live out a dream of recording a demo of her original songs in a professional studio. We know that she’s destined for greater things and we’re thankful to play a small part in what we believe will be a glittering career.”
BOOST introduced two new sugar free flavours to its Energy range earlier this year – Sugar Free Apple and Raspberry and Sugar Free Tropical Blitz. Boost Drinks is the only soft drinks brand to hold a top two position in three distinct categories within the functional drinks market – Energy Stimulation, Sports Drinks and RTD Iced Coffee. Not only that but Boost Red Berry 250ml energy is the third bestselling soft drink SKU in NI selling a remarkable 111 cans per store per week – almost 15 times more than it achieves in London.
* All figures are from the latest IRI NI Convenience unit sales to 22nd June 2024
Keep up to date with all things BOOST on their Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/boostdrinksireland/), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BoostDrinksIreland1) pages. To find out more about Boost Drinks, please visit www.boostdrinks.com/.
