Sophie DeBattista, the 19 year old emerging talent, originally from Malta and based in Charlton, South East London, wowed the crowd and judging panel at the Open Mic UK Regional Showcase, and is now one step away from performing at The O2 Arena in London!
Thousands of acts entered Open Mic UK 2013 and the best unsigned singers from across the country were chosen to perform at the live Regional Final shows. Sophie performed in front of a capacity audience and professional judging panel on Sunday 13th October. She is now set to perform in the Area Finals at The Beck Theatre, Hayes Middlesex for the chance to progress to the National Grand Final within The O2 Arena in London on 18th January 2014, where she will be fighting to win a £5000 cash prize to spend on the development of her act.
Sophie impressed with her rendition of ‘Silver Bulllet’, one of her original songs and after the show the Judges comments were unanimous “Committed performance, positive vibe. Good dynamics to deliver impressive + enjoyable performance. Great energy!”
A spokesperson for Open Mic UK commented “We are searching for an act that not only has the ability to impress an audience, industry judges and A&R associates, but an act that has the potential to become a professional recording artist. Acts that have made it are just one step away from performing at the best live music venue in the country!”
The competition is divided into three age categories; Under 16, 16-20 and 21 and Over. All types of singers, vocal performers, groups and acoustic singer/songwriters are invited to enter Open Mic UK.
The competition 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, Union J’s Jaymi Hensley and Jahmene Douglas both of which are now signed to Sony Music.
Previous winner of Open Mic UK Birdy still at only 17 years of age has become a favourite on 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!
There are thousands of pounds of prizes up for grabs throughout the competition including studio time and singing lessons, with the overall winner receiving significant investment and the opportunity to tour across the UK.
The latter stages of the competition will also provide acts with the opportunity to impress many guests from record labels, agencies and the entertainment industry.
For more information go to the website:
www.openmicuk.co.ukAlternatively, if you are a pre-teen or teenager, check out national singing competition TeenStar.
www.totallysophie.com