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Previous winners include Birdy!

Bedford music show Open Mic UK has been on the search for talent as singers took to the stage last weekend. The music competition has provided industry feedback for the best unsigned singers in the Midlands and North London.

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 Bedford were 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.

Bedford Music show - Feedback for the 23+ age category

Ami– Strong vocals and good performance value. Big finish. Lost vocals slightly towards the end. All the best things come in small packages. A gutsy and committed performance and she look great.

Marianne Harrington– Liked the tempo change between the two songs. Good to see two sides of Marianne. Just would have been nice to see another spin on the song. Great big ending. Watch that you don’t shout too much though.

Sheena McHugh– Great song to sing. Lots of cohesion in image and singing style. A very classy performance. A polished performance but maybe ditch the prom dress. Watch your high notes. Overall a good performance.

Pretty Lies– Loved the arrangement. The blonde is a brilliant singer. Liked the impact standing up brought. Nice harmonies and a classy look. Not sure about the song though. No weak link in the group.

Alex Round– Interesting first song. Original was a little too heavy with vocals and playing. Guitar playing needs to be more expansive. Nice style though acoustic playing with some purpose.

Louise Arnold– Nervous start. Image is a little dated from a performance point of view. Improved as she went on. Look to work the stage more it was a bit static. Watch you hit the big notes pitch perfect.

Pete Boddis– Love this guy. Looks the part and can play and sing. Original song was very good and cover a good choice. An easy and effortless vocal full of storytelling and warmth.

Sarah Mattis– Not the best song choice. Decent enough version of it though. Great stage confidence. Needed to see more individuality though. A well thought out song and performance.

Alexia McIntosh– Well done for keeping it fresh and keeping the surprise element in there. Vocally not quite as strong as last time. Great interaction with the dancer. Very sexy!

Hannah Faulkener– Vocally very strong. I’m not often a fan of guitar and backing track but you made it work. Vocal style isn’t unique it may need something extra to help you progress. Lovely tone and expression

Donny Utton– Nice mash-up with the covers. Strong original song performance given its significance. Well done. Strong performance but you made need to consider updating the act.

Amy Langmead– Use more of the stage you have a big voice but the performance loses something when you’re static. Great vocal. Use your eyes more to engage the audience. Good to hear a power ballad.

Bedford music show – Further feedback

Distinctive– Great beats. These guys surprised me. Nice take on the Bruno Mars song. Crowd loved it! Great harmonies and rhymes. Good energy and likeability factor but not necessarily one of the best performances of the day.

Soulcial Misfits– A bit messy towards the end of LMFAO. Generally speaking need timings to improve. Felt like you were working against each other at times. A little uneasy to watch as at times you were looking at the floor.

Deano– Very dated song choice. Not a modern cutting edge performance, that said a crowd pleaser nonetheless. Great fun but very karaoke. A good voice but no commercial potential.

Kayleigh Sanders– A very elegant performance. Good accompaniment. A bit too similar to Leona Lewis though needed more you. Could have done without the backing vocals. Enjoyed the performance but watch the high notes.

Naomi Mighty– Well performed, one vocal stretch but recovered well. Liked the up tempo second track. A very sexy and classy performance. An attention grabber but song choice was forgettable.

The Gar– Love these guys. Great stage presence and energy. Good chemistry and good song writing too. Like both original songs heard in the comp so far but you were better in Birmingham. Perhaps a bit repetitive.

Joanna Power –Not the strongest vocal of the day. Firework very hard to sing though. You look like you had fun. Nice voice but not distinctive enough for this level of competition.

Melly Burrell– Nice tempo change after an emotive first song.  Good chemistry with guitar player. Showed how big your voice is so a good song choice. You turned American when asking people to put their hands up!

Tania Dee– Brave to open on accapella. It left you a little vulnerable. Voice faltered in places. Sexy outfit, but you would benefit from some vocal coaching to help develop your act.

Charlie Dee– Dancers added wow factor. Good cohesion in the performance to the dancers and song choice and image. Well-coordinated and well-rehearsed. Only criticism would be it was a bit cabaret.

David Busby– Felt very Sheeran inspired. Nice sound and an interesting cover choice. Crowd loved it. Good spin on his work some good flavouring it’s his own. A nice clean and likeable performance but need to be more unique.

Lara George– Strong vocals, but an overdone song choice. Needed more personality in there to make the performance unique. Nice vocal tone though. A mature and classy performance.

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

Bedford music show, 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!