Janet crowing over concert with Russell

IT isn’t every day that you get asked to fly to Australia for a gig and it’s certainly not every day you get asked to perform for one Russell Crowe.

That scenario however, which sounds like a fairy-tale, is exactly what happened to Gortin starlet Janet Devlin when she sang at a special concert put on by the Hollywood star.

Former X Factor contestant Janet, who competed in the eighth series of the show in 2011, recently spent a week in Australia at Crowe’s request as part of his two-night garden party extravaganza in Coffs Harbour in idyllic New South Wales. So how did Janet wind up there?

“It all came about through Ed Sheeran would you believe – and that’s not me name-dropping!” Janet laughed. “I had covered one of his songs, ‘Bad Habits’ and posted the video on Twitter. Ed Sheeran shared it and Russell Crowe saw the tweet and ‘quote-shared’ it. He then began following me on Twitter and shared a lot of my work.

“About a year later, Russell was shooting a film in Dublin and he asked me if I would come down to the set and perform with him for the crew. Unfortunately my schedule didn’t allow that and I was gutted; I thought I’d missed my opportunity!”

Luckily for Janet, she hadn’t. After missing out on the Dublin experience, she got the shock of her life when Russell contacted her and asked if she would perform at his garden party in sunny Oz. needless to say, Janet wasn’t for refusing.

“Obviously, I wasn’t turning this down,” Janet continued. “I was so excited. I think he was confident I’d say yes because, when the performer list was released, my name was there – I hadn’t even accepted yet!” .

All set for the off, a three-flight journey and Janet finally landed at Coff’s Harbour. Over two nights, she and the rest of the performers, including Cavan-based performer Lorraine O’Reilly, Crowe’s own son Charlie and Australian country music star Troy-Cassar Daly, played to packed crowds at the party, whilst staying at Crowe’s
impressive ranch as his
personal guests.

“It was a wonderful experience,” Janet remarked. “Of all the ways to see Australia, to do so with Russell Crowe as your tour guide is one you definitely want to experience!”

And the man himself?

“Russell is an absolute gentleman – I’ve not a bad word to say about him at all. He was kind, generous and just wonderful to be around. He is definitely a presence and commands a room with ease.”

Now it’s all over, how is Janet feeling?

“A wee bit baffled and dazed still to be honest; you can’t go into a situation like that and not feel dazed. I’m still figuring out my sleep schedule so that is playing a part, but delighted and loved the entire experience!”