Our Play Irish Artist of the Week on Beat Breakfast is Reuben Hester and his single 'Sold My Soul.'
25-year-old Reuben Hester, who plays guitar, piano and cello, grew up in Enniscorthy. He left school at 16 with a single-minded goal to make music. Traveling across Europe, he played the streets of every major capital. Next, in Manchester, he formed China Lane. As singer and songwriter for the band, he stormed Spotify’s viral charts garnering over 1.5 million streams and saw his music placed on the Netflix series Insatiable.
In October, Reuben got international attention when he appeared on BBC One Television’s LITTLE MIX ‘The Search’. He performed a song he had written in memory of his father Kevin, who passed away last year, at the age of 55, following a drug overdose. Little Mix were blown away by Reuben’s songwriting, and following his performance the world’s biggest girl band broke into their own impromptu performance of his song on live TV.
On the advice of Little Mix, Reuben has launched his solo career with the very same song – his debut single ‘SOLD MY SOUL’ – which Little Mix have since supported across their social media.
Reuben said “I wrote this song shortly after my father’s passing. I was struggling with the pain and slowly found myself slipping into a dark place. Most days I felt like I couldn’t write and eventually I stopped feeling anything at all. It was a difficult time. Music brought me back to life. Everything I felt was put into this song. It is the most heartfelt and honest piece I have ever written. Words can't explain the emotions I feel every time I perform this song."
