I’m a mum from Grimsby – and just beat top singers from 30 countries to win the Karaoke World Championships
A MUM from Grimsby beat the top singers from more than 30 countries to win the Karaoke World Championships.
Ellie Butler wowed judges with her amazing vocals and took home a trophy from the coveted singing competition.
She took the top spot from 40 contestants and celebrated at a glitzy bash last weekend in Panama, Central America.
The pilot announced her win on the KLM flight home – and she was brought a bottle of champagne to toast her victory.
Ellie, 41, who usually sings at events, weddings and 80s nights, told The Sun: “Everyone cheered on the plane.
“I thought to myself – this is what it feels like to be somebody. I felt like I won the X Factor. It was absolutely amazing.” During the solo final she stole the show with the Jennifer Hudson version of the Andy Williams song The Impossible Dream.
She belted out four songs, including Leona Lewis version of Run, Prince’s Purple Rain and Ruby Turner’s Stay With Me Baby.
Ellie said: “When they handed me the trophy I held it in the air and kissed it like the football World Cup.
“I didn’t know if I would get another chance to do it.
“One minute you are singing in a pub to five people then the next you’re winning a World Championship.
“I wasn’t prepared for how big it was, and I wasn’t expecting the contestants to be so good.
“I think I made the UK proud by being a nice, typical English girl.” Ellie, who lives with her seven-year-old son Riley, first got involved with the contest in April.
She said: “I saw a post about the competition on social media and you had to submit a video of yourself singing.
“I thought I would enter and didn’t really think much of it.
“Then I got an email to say I had gotten through to the second heat.” She breezed through the UK competition and was announced the winner in August.
Ellie said finding out she would then be representing the UK at the World final in Panama was “unbelievable”.
She said: “I went to the final and my first performance was a song called Stay With Me Baby.
“I was singing for my mum as I have lost her recently. It’s about heartache, but for me that’s how I felt about being apart from my mum.
“My Dad was a bit emotional, he’s really really proud.” Praising the other competitors, Ellie said: “The best part of it all was meeting all the other people “Everyone was so welcoming, and so many people came up to me and told me that I was their favourite.
“We would also have a laugh after the performances by going out to karaoke bars. The after parties were great.
“At the final, everyone was chanting ‘UK, UK’. When they read my name out I cried my eyes out.
“I just broke down. I didn’t think I was going to win.” Second place went to Rafaella Joy Berso of the Philippines.
As well as the trophy, Ellie also won 5,000 euros which she hopes to use to further her singing career.
She joked: “And to clear my overdraft.” The mum has also been invited to perform at next year’s final in Finland.
Ellie, who is a huge Eurovision fan and previously won Voice of Lincolnshire, said it would be her dream to finally win for Britain.
She added: “Of course I would say yes to Eurovision if they asked me.
“My mission now is to get this bigger in the UK. We want to hold it here but at the moment it’s just not big enough.
I’m so passionate about it now and I hope this will encourage people to enter.” It is the third time Britain has won the competition after it was founded in 2003, the latest being songstress Jenny Ball.