A 76-year-old grandma started rapping on 'The Voice' and it's truly one of the most iconic TV moments
'The Voice UK' has had many participants come and go since it first launched in 2012. However, Bette Reynolds was the oldest contestant to perform on the stage on September 28, 2024, where she surprised the judges by singing 'Rapper's Delight' by The Sugarhill Gang. While the judges were in awe, the audience couldn't sit still and started grooving to her song. "I haven’t been on stage since 1966. But, at 76, you’re still a young thing if it’s in your mind," the singer told the audience before adding, "I want to do myself proud, and I want to make my family proud. It’s a big privilege to be here," per Metro UK.
Fans quickly flocked to the YouTube comment section of the episode. One said, "This was brilliant; I loved her. She was very recently bereaved, and she told the judges her husband was a fun guy... fair play to her; he would have been proud. Age is no barrier to going for it and having fun along the way. Will she win? probably unlikely, but how brave she was to do this song." Another added, "I cried watching her. I lost my granddad 2 years ago, and she reminded me of the fun person he was. He loved a good old song and dance when he had the chance. I miss him so much. Fair play, Bette." One also rhymed in saying, "What a lady she was! Love that song; hope she got some more hope to see her in many more brilliant."
Bette just gave us one of my favourite ever #TheVoiceUK moments, wow. So far tonight I have also liked Matty, Róisín I really liked her voice, Chloejet who gave me Cher Lloyd vibes and Abdul with his beautiful voice.
— Daniel Brown (@DanJBrownMUFC) September 28, 2024
According to BBC, the Scottish gran, who had her life's first stage performance on 'The Voice UK,' is no stranger to the limelight. Bette has 60k followers on her social media accounts, where she posts comedy music videos. Startford Today reported how this moment came to be. "It was about a year ago when 'The Voice UK’s' producers got in touch with Stewart (Bette's husband) after seeing my videos and asked him if I’d have any interest in coming on the show,” she said. “I do social media videos, and previously, I put stuff up on Vine, and they had seen them. So Stewart told me this, and I thought, ‘I don’t know,’ but the next day, the producer texted again. I asked Stewart if he thought I could do it, and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ So I said, Okay, absolutely!”
The voice tonight
— R.V (רות) (@rstonefire) September 28, 2024
Bette Reynolds at 76 certainly light the stage and audience on fire.I could feel her vibe coming through the telly tonight 🩵😁
“That’s right UK we love you “🙆🏽♀️ #BetteGotSoul🦋#Scottish #Itv280924#TheVoiceUK#FanofBette pic.twitter.com/W0pCPYdIzk
Although Stewart Reynolds passed away a month before her performance, Mrs. Reynolds decided to follow through with support from her family. When asked which was a bigger thrill, singing to Tom Jones or performing on the stage of 'The Voice UK,' she replied, "I could say it was both equally, because let’s face it, he and I have grown up together,” she joked. “To get an opportunity like this was just so special. It was the first time I had stepped on a stage in Britain since 1966, and I’ve been a singer all my life, and I’m classically trained. But I picked Rapper’s Delight because of my grandkids. They like rap music, so I learned about it so I could talk with them about it. I did a lot of their memes and parodies as well, especially of Drake.”