A former singer on The Voice who became an online sensation singing Welsh versions of hit pop songs has revealed she was told by record bosses to ditch performing in her native language.
Bronwen Lewis went viral on TikTok during lockdown with her homegrown takes on well-known tracks such as George Ezra's number one hit Shotgun, which ended up being viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
But the 27-year-old from Neath, who's since had her talents showcased by DJ Greg James on Radio One's breakfast show, said she was once told by music execs to "drop the Welsh" in order to make a name for herself.
"After being on The Voice I ended up having meetings with many of the top labels in the UK and beyond," said Bronwen, who first appeared on the then BBC-based talent show in 2013 singing a rousing rendition of Sting’s Fields of Gold, complete with a Welsh language verse.
"And sometimes I'd get told before walking in, 'Right, shall we try keeping the Welsh to a minimum today'?
"Either that or I'd be pouring my heart out with one of my songs and the person behind the desk wouldn't even look up.
"Or there'd be a silence after I finished and I'd never hear back from them again.
"I couldn't understand it because the main reason I got a shot on The Voice in the first place is because I sang in Welsh."
She added, "But because I was young and the music industry can be quite a scary place I felt there were a lot of people I needed to impress.
"Of course, I realise now that wasn't the case at all."
She's certainly come a long way since that moment on The Voice when she failed to get selected for any of the coaches' teams, despite an overwhelmingly positive response from each of them.
Having already released an album in 2016 Bronwen has now set up her own record label - Alaw Records - and has a new single just out called Hearts My Home.
"I'm so glad I stuck to my guns," said Bronwen.
"I knew that if I was passionate about what I do people would get on board, and that's exactly what's happened.
"I've doubled my online fan base in the past year and I'm so grateful for that support."
