The Golden Guitar winner from Greta was up against fellow Team Boy George members Benjamin Caldwell and Taylah Harrington in an elimination round.

The trio performed a medley of songs by John Lennon and The Beatles. Bowtell sang last and it was her heartfelt rendition of Let It Be that most impressed coach Boy George, who asked her to stay on.  

The victory was bittersweet for Bowtell.

“Winning in these circumstances makes you feel bad, actually, because you get to know the singers on your team and like them and spend a fair bit of time together,” she told The Herald.

“But they did an amazing job and can leave with their heads held high.”

Caldwell sang Jealous Guy and Harrington covered Here Comes The Sun. 

The experience was surprisingly stressful for the seasoned singer-songwriter. This was new territory and without her trusty guitar in her arms, Bowtell felt ever-so-slightly vulnerable.  

“You’re all in the ring together and standing there watching everyone else perform and you’re meant to just remain calm while you wait your turn,” she explained, laughing. 

“Once I started singing, though, the nerves went away – although my hand kept shaking. I put it down to too much adrenaline and too much of my asthma puffer, I think, because there is a lot of hairspray backstage.

“As much as I enjoy just singing it’s quite a security blanket, having that guitar there. But I came onto the show to be brave and try new things. I just never thought I would feel so insecure without my guitar.”

Bowtell cannot speak highly enough of Boy George as a mentor. 

“He is a very genuine person and has some really cool stories. He starts telling you one thing and then goes off on a tangent, which I quite enjoy,” she said.

“He’s a very jovial, heartfelt person and he knows what he wants from you. He really wanted me to let go of the technical side of things and just sing from the heart and not concern myself with the notes so much. 

“It was really good for me. There was a real sense of abandonment about what I was doing. 

“And he doesn’t take crap from anybody, that’s for sure. 

“One time at a mentoring session for the knockouts I must have looked like a deer in the headlights and he was like ‘What’s wrong?’ and I was like ‘I don’t know, I’m standing within an arm’s length of Boy George, you tell me what’s wrong’.

“He laughed and got me to take my shoes off and put the guitar down. To relax and just sing along to the piano. It worked.”