Sophie DeBattista, an emerging singer/songwriter who is originally from Malta and lives in South East London, has made it through to the Grand Final of the national music competition Open Mic UK! She will now play to a packed out crowd and celebrity judging panel at The NEC in Birmingham!
After impressing the judging panel at auditions against thousands of other unsigned musicians across the UK, she went on to perform in the Open Mic UK live showcases, battling through both Regional and Area final heats. The 19 year old talent is now set to perform at the Open Mic UK 2013 Grand Final at The NEC in Birmingham on 18th January 2014 where she will be fighting to win a £5000 cash prize to spend on the development of her act.
Open Mic UK is brought to you by Future Music, the company behind the discovery of artists such as Warner Music’s Birdy, Columbia Record’s Lucy Spraggan, and Union J’s Jaymi Hensley and Jahmene Douglas both of which are now signed to Sony Music and Luke Friend.
Previous Open Mic UK winner Birdy at just 17 years of age has become a favourite on BBC Radio 1 after her breakthrough debut single “Skinny Love” originally by Bon Iver charted in the UK and across Europe. Her self-titled debut album ‘Birdy’ was released to similar success, peaking at No. 1 in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The songstress has just released her second album titled ‘Fire Within’, with the first single from the release ‘Wings’ charting in the Top 20 of 8 countries!
A spokesperson for Open Mic UK commented “We are searching for an act that not only has the live ability to impress an audience, industry judges and A&R associates, but an act that has the potential to become a professional recording artist. The Open Mic UK Grand Final is the best place to showcase your talent in front of a massive crowd and celebrity judges. It’s going to be a huge event and an experience of a lifetime for all our finalists.”
There’s over £50,000 in prizes up for grabs this year and the overall winner will be offered £5,000 cash to spend on the development of their music, with other cash runner-up prizes. The winners will also be given extensive publicity packages and have the opportunity to tour across the UK.
Whatever happens, the Grand Final of Open Mic UK will provide acts with the opportunity to impress many guests from record labels, agencies and the entertainment industry. In previous years the Grand Final judging panel has included BBC Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale and Ras Kwame, representatives from major labels such as Universal Music, Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter and producer Mark Hill, producer for One Direction and Ed Sheeran Si Hulbert, Head of BGM Michael King and Kiss FM breakfast presenter Charlie Hedges.
For more information go to the website:
www.openmicuk.co.uk www.totallysophie.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbZ7PmlW4j4