Michael Joseph Ward (born 14 December 1990) is an English

country singer Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

from

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

who took part in UK series 2 of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' as part of Tom Jones' team singing mostly

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and became finalist in the last Final 4 round. Ward took part in the show after his mother Julie applied for him. He auditioned with the song " Don't Close Your Eyes" from Keith Whitley, with three of the four judges, Jessie J,

Danny O'Donoghue Daniel John Mark Luke O'Donoghue (born 3 October 1980) is an Irish singer-songwriter best known for being the frontman of the Irish rock band The Script and as a coach on the first two series of the television singing talent show ''The Voice ...

and

Sir Tom Jones Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (born 7 June 1940), known professionally as Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top-ten hits in the mid-1960s. He has toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas (1967–2011). Jones's ...

turning their chairs. He opted to be in "Team Tom" and was his team's finalist in the competition singing "

Suspicious Minds "Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was cut by Elvis Presley with producer Chips Moman, becoming a No. 1 song in 1969, and one of the most ...

" solo and "

Green Green Grass of Home "Green, Green Grass of Home", written by Claude "Curly" Putman Jr., and first recorded by singer Johnny Darrell in 1965, is a country song made popular by Porter Wagoner the same year, when it reached No. 4 on the Country chart. It was also r ...

" with Tom Jones. As a result of the public vote, he and

Leah McFall Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...

were runners up, with the title going to

Andrea Begley Andrea Begley is a singer-songwriter from Pomeroy, Northern Ireland, who is most notable for winning the second series of the BBC talent search ''The Voice UK'', beating the favourite to win, Leah McFall. She is the niece of Irish country music ...

. Throughout the series, he was credited for trying to get country music noticed in the UK.

Personal life

Ward was born to Julie Berry and Michael Ward on 14 December 1990. He is named after his father. Mike has four siblings Maria, Darren, Daryl and tank. Mike has

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

roots on his father's side. His grandmother died while he was filming

live shows. On 24 December 2014, Mike's father Michael Ward was a victim of a hit and run with his girlfriend (Paula Jolly) outside an

ASDA Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...

store in Manchester. Paula died at the scene and Michael died in hospital hours after. Ward is a distant cousin of British ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' winner

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 an ...

in the 2nd series of the show. On 6 September 2015, Ward became a father for the first time. He and his partner Francesca found out they were expecting a child a week after the loss of Mike’s father.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

BBC The Voice website: Mike ward page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Mike Living people People from Salford The Voice UK contestants 1990 births 21st-century British singers 21st-century British male singers Irish Travellers from England