X Factor Tour Dublin!

Everyone knows I love X Factor and especially this season with the formation of my favourites, Stereo Kicks, and Only The Young being on the show! So when tickets went on sale for the tour, I snatched them up straight away!

X Factor Tour kicked off on Friday 13th February in Belfast and was there two nights before hitting Dublin on Sunday 15th of February. Only 8 acts made the Tour, Fleur East, Lauren Platt, Andrea Faustini, Jay James, Stevi Ritchie, Ben Haenow, Only The Young and Stereo Kicks!

Fleur. Image belongs to me.

Lauren. Image belongs to me.

Fleur opened the show with ‘Can’t Hold Us’. Lauren performed her slowed down version of ‘Happy’, which took me about a minute to know it was that because she was singing so low and I couldn’t hear the words! She then followed with ‘How Will I Know‘, and she danced a little bit. Jay sang ‘Changing’. Stevi performed ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’. Andrea belted out ‘And I’m Telling You’, his voice is incredible.

Only The Young really got the arena going with their version of ‘I Wanna Be Like You’. They made me fall in love with that song again. They made it fresh and cool. They put the OTY Stamp on it. They put a few dance moves in there too. And I got a little excited and screamed ‘Gwan Charlie and Mikey!’. I am sorry you can hear me in my video (insert cover eyes monkey emoji here!).

 

My bae’s Stereo Kicks hit the stage and the place went crazy, with them receiving the loudest screams of the night. They sang their cover of ‘Let It Be/Hey Jude medley and their vocals live are just incredible. With the reaction they got all night, I firmly believe Stereo Kicks have a great future ahead. Who said 8 boys wouldn’t work? They are incredibly talented and so down to earth, they can’t believe everyone loves them.

 

Charlie from Only The Young. Image belongs to me.

Fleur proved she is a double threat when she returned to the stage to perform ‘All About That Bass’ and ‘Bang Bang’, with her killer moves and stellar vocals. Andrea then sang ‘Listen’. The last song of the first half of the show was a group ensemble, minus Ben! They sang Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’. Stevi donned his Freddie Mercury outfit and performed ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, probably his ‘best’ performance. Not much I can really say about Stevi. Fleur was back on stage to sing ‘Thriller’, she didn’t give it as much energy as she did on the show or her other performances on the night which was disappointing. Lauren sang Disney favourite ‘Let It Go’, which had everyone singing along as usual.

Only The Young sang ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ and I just wanted to get up on stage and dance with them! They are so energetic and have so much on stage, it is infectious. These guys are going places. They are unique and extremely talented. I am excited for their future!

Stereo Kicks. Image belongs to me.

Stereo Kicks got the girls (and boys) screaming again when they sang ‘Everybody’. It was during this that I couldn’t contain myself and shouted ‘Casey you are fit’ and ‘Tom you are fit’ several times. They look gorgeous though, so you couldn’t blame me! My SK buddy Tania is very proud of me 😛

Jay sang Skyfall. Jay did nearly put me to sleep during this but that is simply because he doesn’t mean anything to me. He has incredible vocals but I am just not a fan. Jay got quite emotional after his performance. Stevi sang Footloose. To be honest, he ruined the song for me. I know he is the guilty pleasure act and he does proved entertainment but… I can’t even say anything. There are no words. Stevi is a genuinely nice guy and very pleasant when I met him. Fleur sang her only ballad ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and she proved she can slay the slow songs too.

Only The Young performed one of my favourites of the night ‘Jailhouse Rock/Twist and Shout’. Charlie’s vocals were seriously on point all night but he’s parts in this song were incredible. Mikey looked so hot (love heart eyes emoji here) and he even wore my favourite Houndstooth shirt!!!

 

Lauren. Image belongs to me.

Lauren’s final song was ‘Don’t You Worry Child’. Apart from ‘How Will I Know’, this was my favourite performance from her. After her throat problems recently, I doubted if she was vocally ready for the show but she was and she sang incredibly. She also looked very beautiful.

Stereo Kicks stole the show with the song that started their journey, ‘Run’ and 6 months later they are on an arena tour! I was so proud, there were tears! Chris made a little speech at the end of their performance and I was so proud of him. I’ve known him for over 3 years from his days in Level 5 and met him at Niall Horan’s birthday party in 2012. I was also extremely proud to see Tom Mann on stage. I’ve been supporting him for nearly 3 years too. He’s really fit. I might have mentioned that before but I am just making sure you know it. Casey Johnson is also fit. Okay Stereo Kicks are fit.

Casey Johnson and James Graham. Image belongs to me.

Tom Mann and Jake Sims. Image belongs to me.

Chris Leonard and Barclay Beales. Image belongs to me.

Reece Bibby and Charlie Jones. Image belongs to me.

Fleur performed her outstanding performance of ‘Uptown Funk’, wow that woman can dance!!!

Ben Haenow. Image belongs to me.

Finally the winner graced the stage! Ben Haenow (HAENOW, HAENOW, DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER!) started his set with ‘Come Together’. Ben also sang ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Highway to Hell’, ‘Jealous Guy’ and ‘Demons’ before closing his set with his winner single ‘Something I Need’.

All 8 acts closed the show with a group performance of ‘Never Forget’ and seemed to happy with the response they got in Dublin on the first night!

If you are a fan of X Factor, you will adore this concert! Ben, Only The Young and Stereo Kicks were my stand out favourites and the three acts I heard the majority of people talk about after the show.

So the Irish leg of the tour may be over but if you live in the United Kingdom, tickets are still available for some of the shows. Go get them ASAP!! A show not to be missed, especially if you want to say you’ve been there from day one for OTY and Stereo Kicks 😉

I have a few more videos to add but I am currently in Laois and Wifi is slow. I will add the rest of the videos when I get to University with fast internet!! ❤

Check out my X Factor Blog from when I went to London here.

My Highlights of 2014!

2014 has been one rollercoaster ride! It’s been a bit of a crappy year for me and my family to say the least but throughout the sadness and bad news, I have had some of the best times of my life this year! Below I want to share some of my favourite highlights of 2014 (in no particular order!)

Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

The Commonwealth Games took place in August in Glasgow. It has been on my bucket list for years to attend them and when the opportunity arose that I could go, I grabbed it with both hands (and grabbed my mother too!) and headed to Scotland.

My passport and plane ticket to Glasgow. Image belongs to me.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go was to see Tom Daley dive. Tom was diving in the Men’s Individual 10m Platform Diving competition on the 2nd of August and up until 9am that morning I hadn’t got a ticket, I was devastated, even though I did see him on the Thursday night when I went to see Jack Laugher dive in the 3m Men’s Springboard competition,  I wanted to see him dive. But luck was on my side and at 9:58am on the 2nd of August, I got the last ticket to see Tom Daley dive that evening in the Final and I saw him win Gold. I shook with happiness when I got the ticket!

With my ticket to see Tom Daley dive in the Final!

Tom with his Gold medal. Image belongs to me.

As I mentioned earlier on, I got to see one of my other favourite divers, Jack Laugher dive in the Men’s 3M Springboard Final on Thursday 31st of August and I witnessed him win Silver.  Luck was on my side again, as when I was at the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, I got to met him. He ran over to me after I called his name so many times like I was Rose calling Jack in the titanic! I was extremley happy. My trip to Glasgow was a very successful one. A few more things off the bucket list 😉

Jack Laugher and I at the Closing Ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Paris

One of my best friends lives in Lyon, France and she turned 21 this year and I wanted to surprise her with an unforgettable birthday present. So I secretly flew over to Lyon, even though she found out on that day I was arriving, and surprised her. But what she didn’t know was that I had got two standing tickets to see One Direction in Stade de France in Paris on the following Friday! So on the 19th of June, we carpooled to Paris, one of the longest but most beautiful and exciting road trips ever, and at midnight we arrived in Paris! We got up early the next morning and done a bit of site seeing before the concert! We saw the Arc de Triomphe and had breakfast in a cute cafe on the Champs Elysees.

Melo and me at the Arc de Triomphe.

After that, we took the Metro and went to the Eiffel Tower! It was such a beautiful day and the view was beautiful. Melo and I have this thing were we like to take cool photos in iconic places and what better place to do this than the Eiffel Tower!

Melo and me in front of the Eiffel Tower.

5 Seconds of Summer in London

On March 3rd, I got to see 5 Seconds of Summer in Shepherd’s Bush in London with my 5SOS buddy Giana and some other girls I became friends with through the boys!

WIth Giana, Deanna and Zoe at Sheperd’s Bush.

We queued from 9am that morning, it rained and was so cold. The things we do for those 4 Aussie babes!! The venue is a intimate venue with a capacity of 2,000 people. We were standing, hence why we were queuing so early. We ended up being front row and that was an amazing experience. Every time I see 5 Seconds of Summer live, they just get better and better. I’ve been to over 60 plus concerts and this was up there in my top ten concerts. It was one of those concerts where you just got lost in the moment, in the music. Being there with friends I had made through the boys was even better. Giana and I have this tradition and it’s #GettingDrunkAt5SOS and we have so much fun playing games in the queue! I find it amazing how some of my good friendships are formed because of bands! Looking forward to seeing Giana in London at 5SOS next June 😉

Turning 21

On the 3rd of November, I turned 21. 21 years old. What a milestone to hit. I had my dream 21st Birthday party on the 31st of October, in Great Gatsby style! It was one of the best nights of my life and I got to celebrate it with all my closest friends and family. I will never forget that night (even though I did drink a lot!) because I finally felt happy, within myself and in my life. At one part of the night, I stood alone with the bottle of champagne the pub gave me for my birthday on the dance floor and looked around and just smiled. I had never been more happier in my life.

Me before my 21st Birthday party.

Meeting Shane O’Donnell 

In 2013, Davy Fitz asked a certain 19 year old man to play in the All Ireland Hurling Final Replay and wanted him to do one thing and one thing only – score goals! That man certain done that! Shane O’Donnell scored 3-3 in the replay and Clare won the All Ireland! Shane O’Donnell became the Niall Horan of GAA that day! He became my favourite hurler that day too, purely because of his hurling skills.. Nothing to do with his looks at all! 😛

Shane O’Donnell and I in O’Moore Park in Portlaoise.

3rd night of Where We Are Tour in Croke Park

I was privileged enough to go see One Direction on their Where We Are Tour in Croke Park 3 times. On the Sunday, I got a standing ticket and went with my friends Flozey and Susan (plus her sister Janet!). The two previous nights were incredible but the 3rd and final night was something special. I don’t exactly know why it was more special than the other two, but it was the best show of the weekend. I got some incredible photos of the boys and Harry even waved at me (The video is on my Instagram!).

One of my favourite photos of Niall that I took. Image belongs to me.

How big 5 Seconds Of Summer Became

2014 was the year of 5 Seconds of Summer. They were the breakthrough artist of the year and took the world by storm. With two number one singles, with ‘She Looks So Perfect’ and ‘Don’t Stop’ in the UK and USA, and their debut album reaching number one in the USA. The boys seem to be a huge success in Ireland also, with both ‘She Looks So Prefect’ and ‘Don’t Stop’ reaching number one here and ‘Amnesia’ and ‘Good Girls’ both charting in the top 20 singles and the album also debuting at number one. I’m incredibly proud of these boys and look forward to what 2015 has in store for them.

When I met the boys in 2013 in London.

Being front row at Cody Simpson and having Jackson Harris sing to me

On July 4th, I saw Cody Simpson in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin. Thanks to my friends Sophie and Jade, I had a front row ticket to the show. For his support act, he had Jackson Harris, an American singer. One thing I certainly haven’t forgotten is Jackson singing to me. I barely knew of him before the show but by the end of his set, he truly won me over. When Jackson was singing his song Right Kind of Wrong, he spotted me singing along to the chorus and of course I got all shy and embarrassed, which made him come over to right in front of me, he knelt down, held eye contact with me and smiled while sang to me and even held my hand. I got so hot and bothered that my friends Jade and Sophie had to fan me down when he stopped singing to me. My favourite thing about Cody’s concert (apart from Jackson singing to me!) was that it was an acoustic concert.  I wrote a blog about the concert so check that out!

Cody Simpson on his acoustic tour in Dublin 2014. Image belongs to me.

Jackson Harris on Cody Simpson’s acoustic tour in Dublin 2014. Image belongs to me.

Seeing Demi Lovato live in concert (FINALLY!)

For my 21st Birthday my best friend Sarah Coghlan ( she has an INCREDIBLE blog too, check it out!!) surprised me with a ticket to Enrique Iglesias’s concert in the 3 Arena on the 23rd of November. More importantly, Demi Lovato was Enrique’s support act. When I opened my card from her and saw the ticket, I was next to tears. I was shaking. She was making one of my ultimate dreams come. To this day, I still can’t thank her enough. When Demi came on stage that night, my heart stopped. I shooking and cried from the minute she came on stage. Demi has been a huge idol to me since 2010 or thereabouts. When she sang Skyscraper and Nightingale, I cried the whole way through both songs. I looked like such an idiot but I didn’t care. Nobody, not even Sarah (although she knows how much I adore Demi) knew how much that moment meant to me. I was so extremely happy. Nothing. I mean NOTHING, could of ruined that moment. I was with one of my best friends, who bought me that ticket, seeing my ultimate idol live. I still can’t believe it. Hearing my favourite song Neon Lights live was incredible. I never felt more alive than I did at that moment.

Demi Lovato performing Neon Lights in the 3 Arena, Image belongs to celebmafia.com

Meeting 4/5 of the Janoskians after sneaking into the Four Season’s Hotel

Jade and I snuck into the Four Season’s Hotel. Like I don’t know how we done it but we did. Thank god we did. We met Skip in a bathroom towel (love heart eyes emoji) and spoke to Jai properly and got him to follow me on Twitter. But we did get kicked out after that. We still managed to meet James and Luke outside. My favourite was finally meeting Luke, god I love him! He gave me a kiss on the cheek! Beau wouldn’t come out to meet us though 😦

The bathrooms in the Four Seasons are so fancy, I had to take a selfie.

Daniel (Skip) and I in the Four Season’s Hotel. He is wearing a Bathroom Towel. And only that! Image belongs to me.

Jai and I in the Four Season’s Hotel. Image belongs to me.

James and I. Image belongs to me.

Luke and . Image belongs to me.

 

Elizabeth’s Sweet 16th

My darling Elizabeth turned 16 this year. Words don’t explain how much I love that girl. I can’t believe she is 16. I can’t imagine my life without her. She is such a beautiful, kind hearted, loving, special lady and I’m so proud to be her cousin. She makes be a better person, she makes me smile when I’m down and she gives me strength when I am weak. She is such a strong girl for everything she goes through and she never complains and is always with a smile! She has taught me to treasure the little things in life.

Elizabeth and I a her Sweet Sixteenth Birthday Party.

My Dad getting elected for the Central Council Delegate for Laois GAA County Board

On the 8th of December, my Dad got elected to be Central Council Delegate for Laois GAA and I couldn’t of been any prouder of him. My Dad had a very bad year in 2014 and this was the lift he needed. The spark that had been missing came back into my Dad. Once again he was the underdog and once again shocked everyone and beat off all competition. I don’t say it to him very often, but I am very proud of my Dad and all he has achieved. He works so hard and does so much for Laois GAA and it’s nice to see that people appreciate my father. So Dad, if Mam has told you about this or is showing you this, I told you you could do it. Once you believe in yourself, you can do anything. You know what you are talking about when it comes to GAA and you are the man for any GAA job in my eyes. Words don’t even describe how proud I am of you. I love you Daddy.

My Dad and me at the Laois GAA Awards 2014.

X Factor in November

As part of my 21st Birthday present, I got to go to Wembley to see the X Factor Studios and my favourite contestants. It is something I will never forget! I wrote a blog about it, if you want the full story! I got to meet Only The Young and 7/8 of Stereo Kicks. I also made a new friendship with Tania who has been incredible to me since.

7/8 of Stereo Kicks. Image belongs to me.

Only The Young and I. Image belongs to me.

Becoming even closer to Sarah, Aislin and Joe

Sarah, Joe and Aislin. I’d be lost without them. It is as simple as that. I love the 3 of them so much it hurts. They mean the world to me. 2014 has given me so many good memories with this trio. I could talk all day about them. But they know why they made my 2014. I Love you guys.

Joe and I.

Sarah and I.

Aislin and I.

2015, please have less sad and bad moments for my family and me. Please me full of happiness and memories to cherish.