Irish singer on ‘wild journey’ to America’s Got Talent

Ahead of her appearance on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday, Irish singer Stephanie Rainey has detailed the “wild journey” that has brought her to this pivotal moment in her career.

The Cork star released her single Please Don’t Go in 2015, a song she wrote about the loss of her nephew, Fionn, who tragically died from meningitis before his first birthday.

In a video posted to her social media accounts, Rainey said: “I wrote Please Don’t Go about my experience of loss and grief. My nephew passed away when he was just about to turn one from meningitis.

“So Please Don’t Go is about what loss and grief feel like and the impact it has. I had no idea it would go so viral back then.”

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The song reached 5 million people worldwide on YouTube and Facebook when it was first released.

“It led me to signing a record deal in the UK,” Rainey said of the impact it had. “Over the time that I was with the label, it just didn’t really work out and I got dropped by them in 2017. I’ve been an independent artist since then.

“It was a really difficult time after being dropped as I guess it’s like your dreams have come true and then it slowly fell apart over two years.

“But I never really gave up, and I’ve been releasing music consistently. Then in 2023, I started posting Please Don’t Go on TikTok where it went viral first and then it went viral on Instagram earlier this year. So it’s been a crazy couple of months.”

Almost a decade since it’s first release, Please Don’t Go has found new audiences with over 8 million Spotify plays and 40 million combined views on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

“For a long time I felt stuck in one place, with these crazy things happening and then nothing happening around it,” Rainey continued.

“When I wrote it initially it was very cathartic and I really felt I really needed to write it at that time, whereas now I feel it belongs to everybody else who’s experienced loss and grief.

“It’s such a privilege for me when people find the song and they relate to it and they connect to it and they tell me their stories so I wanted to do something big for the song.

“That is what led me to America’s Got Talent. What better place to go to sing a song and be able to tell the story of the song as well.”

“That is where we are now, me and my best friend Sarah on this wild little journey together which hopefully you can join us on,” Rainey said to her followers.

“I am unbelievably proud of what the song has achieved already, based especially on what it means to me. So join us on this mad rollercoaster that we’re on.”

You can watch Rainey’s audition on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday on Peacock TV, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Rainey has just announced two headline shows in Vicar Street on 14 November 14 and Cork City Hall on 18 December.

Read more: Behind the music – Stephanie Rainey

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