One Voice

One Voice is the debut album by British boy soprano Andrew Johnston, who rose to fame in 2008 after his appearance on the second series of Britain's Got Talent. The album was released on 29 September 2008 by Syco Music, Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell's record label. Recorded in London, the album features both classical and popular songs, some of which had been previously performed by Johnston, including a duet with Faryl Smith. Johnston made a number of media appearances to publicise the album's launch, and appeared in his hometown of Carlisle on the day of the release, where the album sold out. Upon release, One Voice debuted at number five in the British album charts, finishing the week at number four. It also charted in Ireland, reaching number six. Critics responded positively to the album, favourably comparing Johnston to Aled Jones, and One Voice was rated gold in the UK. Background Johnston first rose to fame when he tried out for the second series of reality show Britain's Got Talent. Johnston reached the final, held on 31 May 2008, and finished in third place. Despite this, it was announced that he had been signed by judge Simon Cowell's label Syco Music in June, and that his debut album would be released in late 2008. It was on the show that Johnston first performed a rendition of "Pie Jesu", later described as "the song that made him famous", as well as a cover of Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven". Both of these songs were recorded for One Voice, and so was a duet of "Walking in the Air" with fellow contestant Faryl Smith, first performed on the Britain's Got Talent Live Tour. Recording and release The album was recorded immediately after Johnston finished the Britain's Got Talent live tour over a six-week period in London. The track listing, which contained both religious and popular songs, was chosen by Cowell; Johnston said "I hadn't sung many of the tracks before. But I knew them all and, anyway, I like a challenge." Johnston described recording the album as "great", and said "All I’ve ever wanted to do is go into a studio and record an album and it was everything I’ve ever dreamed of." Johnson recorded "Walking in the Air" as a duet with fellow Britain's Got Talent contestant Faryl Smith. The recording was finished by September 2008, after which Johnston began to make appearances to publicise the release, including appearances on GMTV, Channel 5 News, BBC Breakfast, This Morning and Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night.