A Belfast teen who competed in The Voice Kids is set to release his debut single next month.

Jarlaith Mervyn is capturing hearts and minds, with his extraordinary vocal talent and live street busking performances across the city and beyond.

The 13-year-old has been gaining attention across online platforms after his stand-out performance in front of nearly 4000 people, supporting Boyzlife at the Concert 4 Little Stars gig in Custom House Square Belfast.

Jarlaith is now getting ready to release his debut single called “Dust”, which he also performed live for the first time at the gig last weekend.

The song, written for him by Phil Johnston and Michael Walsh, is a poignant anti-war song that “laments the needless slaughter of innocent children and the waste of life in all conflicts around the world”.

Jarlaith said: I see the news on TV and it scares me that innocent children and babies are dying and the people killing them don’t seem to care.

“What kind of world is this? What will it mean for young people like me growing up? What is our future going to be? I have to tell our leaders to stop this madness. It angers me.

“This is horrific. This is wrong.”

Jarlaith Mervyn on ITV’s The Voice Kids© ITV

The accompanying video for “Dust” was shot in the Oh Yeah Music Centre Belfast – where Jarlaith has taken songwriting lessons – and the surrounding streets of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter provided the backdrop to Jarlaith’s first video, a cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song Sound of Silence made when he was just 10 years old.

Jarlaith’s passion for music and dedication to his craft are very evident and promise a bright future ahead.

In 2023, he starred in ITV’s The Voice Kids where he caught the attention of Ronan Keating and gained some valuable musical knowledge from pop superstars Will.I.Am and Pixie Lott.

His first major festival appearance followed a few weeks later when he sang to an excited teenage crowd at Dergfest.