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Previous winners include Birdy!

The UK's largest talent competition for singers and songwriters travelled to Portsmouth this week to see the best acts in the southern area battle it out for a chance to play at the grand final at the O2 in January.

The competition was incredibly fierce on the day, and the levels of talent were clear to see for everyone at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Saturday 27^th November.

Here the judges give us some feedback from the event, but remember it could all change at the grand final.

Please note: views expressed by Judges are opinions and in no way reflect the views of Open Mic UK. 

The judges were: Singer songwriter Graeme Ennis, Darren Ashford from ICMP, from Vocal Tutor Amelia McCloskey, International performer and vocal coach Rosalind Fountain, Radio Solent’s Carl Ralley and Future Music’s Chris Grayston.

Luke Friend;

Lovely strong voice, guitar playing was shaky in places which undermined the performance a bit, nice interaction with audience, maybe think about having a backing track instead of a guitar next time?

Charli Simonis;

 Don’t be afraid to use the stage a bit- your vocals were strong, but be careful not to overperform – good confidence and a good stage presence.

 Charlotte Neale;

Nice voice but needs more of a performance with movement on stage and gestures, also try to interact with your audience a bit more – great ending!

Laura Jayne;

Worked the stage beautifully, you have a lovely voice, but this wasn’t the right song for you, and you struggled a bit especially with high notes.

Tamsin Ball;

Polished, good performance, your vocal was flawless on a vocally challenging song, well done.

Ash Blakeley;

Good voice and choice of song, but don’t be afraid to use the stage a bit, also really try to connect with your song, sell it to the audience, we could tell you were nervous, though, so well done.

Devon Wright;

Definitely talented, great image and a nice song choice, but don’t be afraid to impose yourself a bit more on stage and be careful of your tuning.

Siana;

Nice voice, good solid performance and you looked lovely, but try to connect more with your audience and impose yourself a bit more, sell the song to them.

Mary Beth;

 Good strong voice, but need to engage mood of the song – the Abba number should have been more joyful , your second song was much more comfortable, you’ll do well at the West End.

Paige Robinson; 

Good voice, but the judges thought it was the wrong song for you, again, don’t be scared to move around and use the stage a bit more- engage with the audience.

Hannah Dawe;

 Guitar was a bit off tune, and you need to work a bit on mic control, but overall a nice performance.

Grace Rogers;

Obviously has a nice voice, but you need to use the dynamics of it more – judges felt like you were holding it all back, rather than really pouring everything into it.

Charlotte Samuel;

 Nice voice, but try to hold back on the top notes to avoid becoming shouty, definitely talented, and one to watch for the future.

Sydney;

Guitar was slightly out of key, but you sounded and looked great,  good arrangement of your cover song, really nice voice, but don’t be afraid to interact with the audience a bit more. Loved your original.

Leanne Grice;

Confident and a lovely voice, but be careful of mic control on big notes.

The Young Mavericks;

Original, confident, well thought out performance, your voices worked really well together- maybe try putting the acapella at the front of the performance.

Sara Fawcett;

Good to hear an original song, very talented young lady, but it felt like you got a bit lost at times – nice audience interaction.

 Sophie Plummer;

Very mature voice – a good vocal and use of stage, image okay, but overall nice relaxed performer – judges loved your song choice, well done.

KT Kenward;

Guitar was slightly out of tune, the judges thought that distracted from your lovely voice, try to project your personality without getting shouty, good show.

Rebecca Anderson;

Engaging performance and good use of stage, you recovered well from a timing issue onstage, remember to put as much effort into the song as in the dancing etc, loved the keyboard.

Rosie May;

Polished and controlled, but maybe hold back a bit in the high notes? You lost some of the lovely tones in your voice through straining and that was a real shame.

Stephanie Hershaw;

Nice performance, might be worth getting someone to talk you through Italian pronunciation, as this would really help you next time.

Jamie Eldridge;

 Worked the stage well and put on a great show – nice image, which suited you perfectly, you had some pitching issues and some breath control work is needed.

Shannon Lyford;

Think you were very nervous and it did show, unfortunately  - judges weren’t sure  about the cover, as it sounded really dated, but loved how you livened up during your second song, just need to work a bit on confidence.

Carolina Blue;

Guitars were perfectly tuned, a good engaging performance, once again you shone out from the others, tight musical arrangement and good solid vocals, you’ve come on leaps and bounds since regionals, well done girls.