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Previous winners include Birdy!

Bedfordshire live music competition Open Mic UK has been discovering talent this weekend. The singing contest has provided industry feedback for the best unsigned singers in the area who made it through to the Midlands and North London Area Final.

Successful contestants in the Midlands and North London performed at The Corn Exchange in Bedford in front of a large crowd and the Open Mic UK industry experts. Judges included vocal coaches, music journalists and A&R managers. The singing competition feedback on selected acts can be seen below.

Judging the unsigned musicians in Bedfordshire were Another Level star Dane Bowers, Darren Ashford who has played with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, Emma Durrant from the Essence Music Agency, Dutch Van Spall from Big Help Management, vocal expert Nicky Newman, David Preston from Cowshed Studio and Head of A&R at Future Music Ben Price.

Find industry feedback below. Please be aware views expressed by judges are opinions and subjective to that particular judging panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Open Mic UK, and are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing acts. Please take the feedback on board with a view to helping in the future.

Bedfordshire Live Music - feedback for the 17-22 age category

Truly – Started really well but lost thread and it seemed to affect performance. Very interesting voice, very Flo & the Machine so did well to avoid that cover this time. Very engaging performer but more rehearsal needed.

Amy Bennett– Watch out for that American accent, be yourself. Good work in getting the crowd going. Nice cover choice. Accompaniment a bit too heavy at times. Dual vocals are nice, let’s go mic off stand and stop hiding that lovely face!

TrumpetstarNay – Good timings and plenty of star quality. Good lyrics. Work on image look a bit more edgy. Excellent stage performance. Animated and energetic. Comedy in the lyrics too, keep developing the act.

Harri Georgia– Brilliant original song, shame it was brief. Cover a good choice too but should have worked the front of the stage to engage the crowd more. Watch your stage strutting. You have a lot of skill.

Kerry– Out of tune and flat, sorry. Not sure if it was nerves? Love the image. Great choice of song but you didn’t do it justice I’m afraid. Intonation slipped. Work on this with some professional training.

Gavin McCluskey -Felt like it lacked impact despite the tempo change and introduction of dancers. Dancers looked a little casual and uncoordinated. Great original song. Your styling didn’t match the act. Strong vocal but lacks vocal.

Chris K– Not the best song choice and a bit flat. Needed to put your own spin on the song. A very straight cover. great voice but I’m not sure about the styling. Find a song that you can make your own.

Emily Rice– Not sure on the image. Needed more stage performance and feeling in the song. A very interesting voice. Again, a straight cover. Always pays to add flavour. Work on getting your voice under control to avoid it becoming shrill.

Jake Morrell– Needed his own stamp on the cover. Confident performer but needs more dynamics and something extra. Good original song. Enjoyable with a strong voice but work choosing songs with more dynamics.

Sabrina Hussain– Another big voice but another straight cover. Really good singer. Work on keeping the energy going throughout the performance. Love the emotion and the song was good. Beautiful girl!

Leanne Scrivens– At last, a cover with a difference! Felt the emotion of the song. Good versatile voice. Would have liked to have heard a faster number from you as well. Performance felt a little rushed in the middle though.

Lois Johnson– Strong voice. Performed all in one spot. Use the stage more. Make sure the top notes aren’t so shouty. Great song but it’s all in one colour. Need to work on the dynamics.

Bedfordshire Live Music – Further feedback

Asleigh Askew– Not as dramatic or engaging as last time. Started off out of key. Got better as she went along. Felt she lost some of that great personality from the last show. Great use of the stage.

Amy Southall– Liked the song choice suited your voice. Needed a bit more movement on stage but vocally on point until reached the big bit. Great range and microphone technique.

Leah Walker– Needed more volume and thrust but otherwise a good performance. Strong vocal and a large range but your tuning was out in places. You need to listen to yourself more!

Essence– A voice with a performance to match. Love the professionalism of the act. Be careful to arrange vocals between you better so it doesn’t become too cluttered. Otherwise a very good performance.

Malu and Lily– Needs improvements in a lot of areas. Harmonies were a little pitchy. I like the image but you need to let go more. At the moment it feels like a children’s entertainment act.

Danielle –Nice arrangement of Katy Perry. Good audience engagement. Nice to see a cover that’s different from the rest. Consistent vocally and easy to watch. Needed something else to help you stand out.

Lauren Green– Strong performance. Great vocals. The song was a little repetitive so you need to vary your vocals more. Watch your posture and maybe lose the heels? At times the song became monotone.

Hustie and Sparker– Still needs more chemistry it’s a bit rough around the edges. An uncertain start you lost it in several places. You were much better in the last heat unfortunately.

Jess Dixon– Well performed but an overdone song and it lacked an original twist. Passionate vocals and good expression. Nice dynamic tone, well done. Technically a good performance.

3Style– Entertaining. They got the crowd going. Worked the whole stage. I like the concept being conveyed but they need to strut less. Love the interaction on stage. Very slick and very well-rehearsed.

Tayla Blue– Much better than in the last round. Lost key at one point but otherwise very good. Dancers really brought value to it. Very professionally put together. The complete package!

The guest act for the day was Lucy Spraggan, who treated the crowds to her trademark entertaining performances.

Bedfordshire live music, Enter Now!

All successful acts at the Midlands and North London Area Final will now be performing in the live Grand Final at London’s O2 on 21^st January. Come along to see the best unsigned talent!

Don’t miss your chance to perform in front on industry professionals! You can enter Open Mic UK now!