When you fall in love, sometimes you've just got to sing it from the rooftops. So when First Dates waiter Alice presented Oweny from Wexford with a karaoke mic on tonight's episode, he had no choice but to sing his heart out.
For most people on a first date, singing 'You'll be Back' from Broadway's Hamilton could spell disaster. Thankfully, this exhuberant performance was just the cherry on top of a similarly showstopping date for him and Katie from Cavan.
Described by his friends as a "golden retriever in human form", lovelorn musical theatre fan Oweny had walked into the First Dates restaurant with a romantic wish to bring his date to a karaoke bar if all went well.
"I'm always singing", he told barman Neil. It was a chance encounter with a karaoke bar while travelling abroad that awaken his inner Lin Manuel Miranda. Now, all he needed was his leading lady.
Enter, Katie from Cavan.
Despite never having been in a relationship, Katie was looking for someone that she can "project" all the love she has herself onto.
Just minutes into their date, the pair were swapping stories about their beloved dogs and dating experiences.
Katie told cameras that just four years prior she'd had surgery to remove an 8lb cancerous tumour when she was only 18. "Thankfully I didn't have to get any treatment afterwards, it was just taken out and it was grand", she explained.
"After that then it was just going out and drinking and the whole lot, so I wasn't looking after myself. I didn't care." In the years since she said she'd processed the emotional journey of it.
Oweny shared his experiences of solo travelling the world, jet setting from Venice to New York, London to Athens and beyond.
By the time mains arrived, Katie admitted that Oweny wasn't her "usual type", before quickly adding that she didn't have a type and usually goes "off personality". Ever the self-assured, confident dater, Oweny questioned how she could know he's not her type if she doesn't have one?
"I'm the trendsetter, I'm going to be your type", he quipped, clearly charming his date.
As if they weren't already in harmony, as the pair wrapped up their meal Oweny was handed a mic by waitress Alice and invited to take to a makeshift karaoke stage to serenade not just Katie, but the entire First Dates restaurant. His confident performance had all the dinners clapping and singing along, ending what was already a memorable date on an exceptionally high note.
It was no surprise, then, that when asked by producers if they wanted to meet again, both Oweny and Katie gave a resounding yes.
