When 32 year old Conleth Kane recorded some spontaneous, heartfelt lyrics into his phone one night, he never expected them to touch thousands of people across the globe.
“The Grass Is Always Greener” went viral overnight and now has 30,000 views and over 500 shares.
Conleth, originally from Lurgan but based in London for the last 13 years, found his world in pieces after his relationship ended suddenly. For the past 12 years he has featured in theatre productions and television, and this year moved towards singing/songwriting.
“The Grass is Always Greener came from a place of pure heartache.”he told BAM, “I was with my partner up until 4 weeks ago exactly. I was the happiest I had ever been on a personal level, my ex-partner was my absolute everything. I worshiped the ground he walked on, I genuinely did.
“Then one day – BANG. It was over. I don’t really want to go into why it ended but I could no longer stay with him. I was devastated. That was it – gone. Out of my life in a matter of hours.”
Conleth found himself in a very dark place. But it wasn’t long before he instinctively took to his creative talents to express his emotions.
He said: “I didn’t sleep for days and I was exhausted from crying and not feeling I had any closure. Naturally I ended up channeling my creativity into songwriting and I wrote “The Grass is Always Greener” in about 20 minutes.
“The lyrics and melody flew to me. I was in a yoga studio on a mat and as soon as the class finished I ran to my phone and sang it in to it so I had some record of it. The day I had the piano part recorded was particularly emotional as I ended up having food in the exact spot were I met my ex-partner, purely by chance.
“When I got home I sang it into my phone and got so overwhelmed I had tears in my eyes, the song, the melody, the lyrics, being at the place we met was extremely hard for me, but I thought the song had a touch of magic and I wanted to see if I was right. I had no idea what was about to happen.”
When Conleth woke up the next morning to 5000 views and 67 shares on Facebook, he momentarily panicked.
“I literally sat with my jaw open. I had over 20 friend requests and messages from people in New Zealand, Spain and all over the UK and Ireland. I decided to remove it as I wasn’t expecting THAT reaction, I really wasn’t.” he said.
But he then began receiving calls urging him to re-post the song. Now with over 30,000 vies, Conleth has been inundated with messages from people all over the world who have been touched by its authenticity.
Conleth said: “What this song has achieved in 24 hours is beyond my wildest dreams. It has touched a nerve with so many people. Everyone can relate to loss.”
The song’s success didn’t stop there. Conleth will be performing it at Belfast Gay Pride today (Saturday 6) along with some of his other material.
“People are coming to Pride this Saturday now just to hear the song, it’s absolutely crazy!” he said.
The reactions have been overwhelming. Conleth talked about how it feels to not only reach out to everyone who has ever felt the pain of heartbreak but what is had done for his own healing.
“The most rewarding bit of this whole experience is that I have realised it’s not just me going through this. So many people have private messaged me to say my song was so relatable on so many different levels – the loss of a parent, a loved one, a relationship ending.
“This song came from the most vulnerable of places, and has now led to the most rewarding creative experience of my life. Everyone deals with things differently. Heartache isn’t easy, and this song has proved to be a light in what was a very dim situation for me.”
Set to perform live at Pride this afternoon, Conleth is understandably “nervous and excited.”
He said: “I haven’t been at Belfast Pride since 2003. Plus this time I am getting up to perform 3 of my own original songs. One is a current hit on 2 of Northern Ireland’s biggest radio stations (“Giving It Up” with Maff Boothroyd and DeepMatter), one is the song I wrote last week that has exploded over the internet in just 2 days (The Grass ids Always Greener), and the other is a track I will be releasing later in the year that features Brit Award singer Sonique’s vocals.
“I heard it with her for the first time a few days ago and it sounds amazing, it’s called ‘Take Me Higher’, produced by Damon Hess. I should be excited, shouldn’t I?!”
The audience is in for an “emotional rollercoaster” today with Conleth’s combination of instantly catchy songs and his aim is to ensure everyone has a great time.
“I just want people to enjoy my music.” he said.
And what about the future?
Conleth said: “I want to find personal happiness again. I have always been so career driven and thought I could only be happy via professional success, but my relationship with my ex made me realise I am at my best when I have a balance in life.
“I will get there again. I was single for 7 years before meeting him. I was so scared of loving him, of letting go and being in a relationship, and when I eventually did, it was the best feeling in the world. So my goals for the future are to meet someone and also continue to focus on my creative side.”
Conleth has featured in several musicals, theatre productions and television shows, including BBC 1’s Casualty and RTE 1’s Fame the Musical. He also starred in a musical alongside Jessie J and duetted with Pink for the 2009 T Mobile advert.
His latest single “Giving It Up” is on both the Cool FM and Q Radio playlists and is available on iTunes.
“Follow your gut instinct. Always. Follow your dreams. Always.” he said.
He has garnered a massive connection with the thousands who have heard The Grass Is Greener, and there will be no better place to celebrate that than at Belfast Pride today. Get down to Custom House Square and join in the fun!
Connect with Conleth on Twitter and Instagram @ConlethKane.