Rylan’s Karaoke Challenge on Radio 2 tops £928,000

For 24 hours he belted out 231 songs in a karaoke challenge to raise funds for Children In Need and it was worth it as Rylan Clark-Neal has raised a staggering £928,000 for the charity so far.

When the ‘KaRYoke’ marathon ended at 9.15 this morning with a fitting rendition of Tina Turner’s The Best, aided by Heather Small, Rylan fell to his knees as Zoe Ball played the sound of church bells in his Essex hometown, Stanford-Le-Hope.

Proud is an understatement! ? @Rylan @MPeopleHeatherS

You can still donate to @BBCCiN at https://t.co/iKKSgyyOKw#KaRYoke pic.twitter.com/X2B7AeBBsp

— BBC Radio 2 (@BBCRadio2) November 13, 2019

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The moment @Rylan officially completed his epic 24 hour #KaRYoke marathon! pic.twitter.com/9Kx9S1sStV

— BBC Radio 2 (@BBCRadio2) November 13, 2019

The event was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and the BBC Red Button with Rylan being helped on along the way by various celebrities including Rick Astley, Nicole Scherzinger, Craig David and Heather Small. Some of the Radio 2 DJs, such as Vanessa Feltz, Dermot O’Leary, Trevor Nelson and DJ Spoony also lent a hand.

Rylan said that the memory he has of a recent visit to a Children In Need-funded youth club gave him the strength to keep going to complete the challenge. He says: “Visiting the project and meeting all the kids and volunteers and speaking to them and understanding how much this money impacts their lives, when I am sort of dying at four o’clock in the morning trying to garble together a song I know what I’m doing it for now.”

During the challenge Rylan looked after his vocal cords by eating a spoonful of honey every hour.

As his marathon was coming to end, he told Zoe Ball during her Radio 2 breakfast show: “I am in such a state this morning, it doesn’t feel real. None of it feels real.”

When he’d had a chance to recuperate a little, Rylan tweet a thank you to those who had donated, saying: “I’m not really with it, but can’t thank you enough for all your donations for @BBCCiN #KaRYoke on @BBCRadio2. Nearly 900K now I can’t believe it. Thank you xx.”

I’m not really with it, but can’t thank you enough for all your donations for @BBCCiN #KaRYoke on @BBCRadio2 . Nearly 900K now I can’t believe it. Thank you xx

— Rylan Clark-Neal (@Rylan) November 13, 2019

The amount raised is probably still increasing but the grand total will be revealed during Children In Need which is on BBC One this Friday.