An up-and-coming Tayside singer has been left stunned after flowing praise by an award-winning American pop star.
Cheryl Brown, 17, from Arbroath was moved to tears when she heard Nashville-based artist Jenn Bostic’s Jealous of the Angels for the first time and decided to cover the song on her YouTube page.
The emotional ballad explores the grief experienced by Bostic following the loss of her father, a sentiment Cheryl identified with following the death of a close friend this year, Michael McKay.
Michael, of Arbroath, died on February 8 following a battle with cystic fibrosis and Cheryl had formed a close friendship with him in the year leading up to his death.
She decided to cover the song in honour of Michael and received a wealth of positive feedback from viewers for her heartfelt rendition of the piece.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pBg9btpGqKU%3Frel%3D0
Cheryl emailed the cover to Bostic and was reduced to tears again but this time they were tears of joy after the country music star told the Arbroath girl she was “honoured” Cheryl had covered the song.
Bostic wrote to Cheryl saying: “I am honoured that you covered the song. Thank you so much for sending it as well. It’s gorgeous. I’m so sorry for your loss, Jenn.”
The Tayside singer said the comment left her stunned and overwhelmed with the praise and cited Bostic as one of her main inspirations.
“I started crying when I read the reply from Jenn and got really emotional,” said Cheryl. “To have her say that she was honoured was insane because she’s one of my inspirations.
“I became really good friends with Michael last summer and wanted to cover the song for him. I’m not that good with words so it let me express myself in my own way.”
Cheryl has amassed followers online and through gigs at venues with her simple but honest acoustic style.
She enlisted the help of her grandfather, a keen videographer, to help make her video of the recording.