Eight year old Westmeath boy tops iTunes chart

A young Mullingar singer has topped the Irish iTunes charts with his first single.

Eight-year-old Johnny Joyce's new song, Santa Grant A Wish, won't be officially released until November 12, but it still topped the iTunes singles chart yesterday (Monday) due to the large number of people who have pre-ordered it on the site.

Johnny recently recorded the track, which was written especially for him by family friend Mick O'Brien, at a studio in Waterford. He has also recorded a video, which will be released later this month. His maiden performance of the song will be at the Chance to Shine concert in Mullingar Arts Centre on November 12, where Johnny will be making a guest appearance.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Johnny's proud father, Christy Joyce, said that the talented youngster is over the moon to have topped the chart with his first single.

All of the money raised from the sales of the single will go to Crumlin Children's Hospital.

"My niece died from cancer in 2012 when she was only five years old. We always wanted to do something for Crumlin as she spent a lot of time there," Christy said.

Johnny was bitten by the performing bug less than a year ago when he was asked to sing a song in a play at his school, Mullingar Educate Together.

"They asked me to sing ‘In Dublin’s Fair City’ at school for a Christmas play," Johnny told the Westmeath Examiner during the summer. "Then I was asked by a friend of my dad that if I learned a song for him and sang it by the end of the week, he’d give me €50. It was The Way I Am by the Tumbling Paddies, and I learned it with two days to go."

Since then, Johnny has performed with a number of well-known musical acts, including his heroes The Wolf Tones. He can also be regularly seen performing on the streets of Mullingar as he continues to hone his craft.

In the digital world, Johnny has gained a large following on TikTok and Facebook, while videos of him performing classics, such as Grace, have garnered hundreds of thousands of views from across the world.

Johnny's family is well known in the world of boxing, but his ambition is to make a name for himself as a singer. Christy says that he and the rest of the family couldn't be prouder.

"It's his dream to be a singer, and he has already reached the hearts of a lot of people."