Martyn Kenyon: Signing songs for Shania Twain was a dream come true! (BSL)

Hi! I’m Martyn Kenyon, I’m 36 years old and I am a Sign Song Performer from Blackpool. I am also a member of Unify – an all deaf BSL choir. I have performed at various events as a sign song performer and I have been working at Lytham Festival for two years running signing for artists. The first artist I signed for was George Ezra and this year I was so honoured to sign for Shania Twain!

My love for music started at home when I was very young. My mum listened to the radio and music most of the day and always in the car. Although I am a hearing aid user, I soon started to recognise songs that were played constantly. Specifically – Shania Twain’s songs.

That was where my obsession for Shania’s music began. By this time my Mum was learning BSL and to help her improve we signed Shania’s songs together. Not only did we enjoy signing together but I also felt that this made our bond stronger.

A lot of Shania’s songs I love for many different reasons, but the very first song that got me hooked was “When”, which was also my Mum’s favourite. 25 years later I still listen to Shania!

Signing songs gives me a better understanding of the meaning of the song’s structure and delivery in BSL. When I first became a sign song performer, naturally I signed the songs in SSE. However, after more than 10 years of performing I’ve realised Deaf audiences appreciate more songs delivered in BSL. I feel it also gives the song’s meaning and emotion a better understanding.

Progressing as a performer has been slow due to little or no publicity. There is also times where people misunderstand the difference between BSL interpreters and Deaf Sign Song performers. And I also feel there are not enough known Deaf performers out there.

To date I have performed at weddings, concerts, small festivals and schools. I have throughly enjoyed delivering songs in a visual way that can be appreciated by Deaf audiences.

The Lytham Festival line up was announced in November 2023. I was unfamiliar with the main acts revealed so I decided I would opt out. Fast forward three months and I received a text informing me that Shania was coming to Lytham. I could not believe it, my idol is coming to my town! I had to sign for her. I was determined to get that gig and I did!

I soon became aware that the song list was not going to be available, therefore I knew I had only four months to learn and translate 20 of her popular songs. Some of them were entirely new but it was Shania and there was no way I was going to let myself or Shania down.

My family and friends knew how much this meant to me, and were as always fully supportive and so so proud. I’m very grateful to be surrounded by great family and friends, Deaf and hearing.

Shania looked and sounded amazing, the band was great, the atmosphere was just phenomenal. I have never seen so many cowboy hats! I felt extremely lucky being so close to Shania.

Looking back, the only thing I would push for next time is the set list because I struggled slightly to recognise which songs were being performed. Other than that, it went amazingly well and I would have loved to have gone to Las Vegas with Shania and sign all her performances!

It feels so special to have gone from an 11 year old boy signing with his Mum to standing on a stage six feet away from Shania! It was definitely an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life.  A dream come true for sure!

This year I have a few gigs at weddings, small festivals and I hope for more. If I am lucky enough, my other two favoured artists to sign for are Beyoncé & Rihanna!

If you want to sign songs for the stars my advice would be to put the hours in, always deliver the songs in its context, learn some moves and just enjoy it!

You can follow Martyn on his YouTube channel here.