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Previous winners include Birdy!

Singing competition Open Mic UK awards winners at The O2 in London who were all competing to be crowned Open Mic UK champion 2011. The singing competition awards were handed out and Open Mic UK has provided feedback for the best unsigned singers in the UK.

Successful contestants in the singing competition played in front of a capacity Indigo2 crowd this weekend, an award for their run in the singing competition which has seen them come through auditions and live shows. The singing competition feedback on all acts can be seen below.

The judging panel included Radio 1's Annie Nightingale, BGM’s Michael King, Future Music’s Chris Grayston, Flavour magazine writer Semper Azeez-Harris, E Plus from Choice FM, Pete Cunnah and Ben Price from Future Music.

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.

Singing competition awards

Ebonie Preston; Ben Price - Lovely opening to the show. Nice voice would have liked a more rocky feel to it in line with the image. Missed a few notes in the second song but overall good. Annie Nightingale – Quite Joni Mitchell. Image is very coordinated. She should keep writing. Pete Cunnah – Great vibe. She has a hit song there. Strong chorus but work on the dynamics. Chris Grayston – Connected well to the song. Michael King – Very nervous. Needs to develop sound, image and stage vibe. E Plus – Played and sung with great ease. 

Arisxandra; Ben Price - Amazing talent.  Always gives me goosebumps. Put in a great expressional performance. Ending not as big as it has been, but still brilliant. Annie Nightingale – Child star. Very polished. Pete Cunnah – Astounding voice. You are going places! A little work required on your lower registers and mic technique. Chris Grayston – Big voice but was a little pushed in places. Maybe in another 1-2 years she will really nail it. Michael King – Star quality, just a bit too young. E Plus – I didn’t think the song worked really well for her. Good effort though. Semper Azeez-Harris – Definitely talented. A few more years and she is bound to be signed.

Be Minor; Ben Price – Nice idea on the image it just needs to be bit more crisp. Loved the mix of songs. They have potential but vocals need to be tightened. Great performance. Annie Nightingale – Competent just not different enough, but enjoyed the harmonies. Pete Cunnah – Tighten those harmonies. Better than the Spice Girls for my money. Excellent! Chris Grayston – Contemporary and your image is in synch. Loved the mash-up, a well worked routine and a good choice of cover. Michael King – Needs work but could be good!! E Plus – I would have liked them to have more fun with the song and smile more. Nice harmonies but could be tighter. Semper Azeez-Harris – The image is a little dated. They need to work out who they really are as a group. The lead singer has ability though.

Disctracted; Ben Price – Image best I’ve ever seen from them. So much more performance value this year compared to last year. Harmonies great and a few bad habits are disappearing. Annie Nightingale – Nice presentation and good hair. Nice harmonies. Pete Cunnah – Interesting song mash-up. Great close harmonies. I liked it! Chris Grayston – Difficult to be picky when they keep improving. Great vocals. Try to connect more with each other. Michael King – Great performance. E Plus – Love the younger singers voice. Sweet harmonies and I like the image. Semper Azeez-Harris – The younger girl has a great voice.

Toby Lewis; Ben Price – Work in progress rather than the finished article. Pleasant performance. Annie Nightingale – Great voice. He will find his own voice in time. Pete Cunnah – Good on you! Need to work on your voice though. Chris Grayston – Tried to force the performance and slipped into a classical background. Michael King – Vocals need more development. E Plus – It seemed a little unnatural and a little forced. Very stage school. Well done though.

Imani Williams; Ben Price – Nice dynamic performance. Needed to use the stage more. Annie Nightingale – Some lovely natural charm. Believe in yourself and find your own style. Pete Cunnah – Great voice but needs training. Ahead of your years. Lovely. Chris Grayston – Natural performer really good connection to the audience with eye contact. Michael King – Like her but work is needed to get her to that level. E Plus – Great effort for such a big song. Semper Azeez-Harris – She definitely feels the songs. She has good potential for such a young age.

Nancy Petulengro; Ben Price – Oozing with originality.  The performance just needed to hit a climax at some point to give some impact. She has something though. Pete Cunnah – Star! Completely unique. You could be huge. Voice, musicianship and image is all there. Michael King – Big ability but no star quality. E Plus – Very impressed, love the accordion playing and the image. Big! Semper Azeez-Harris – Love her originality. She might do something. Great rich voice.

Matt Maltese; Ben Price – Smooth performance. Really good original song loads of soul in there.  Annie Nightingale – Needs to project more. Pete Cunnah – You have a good tone but with training you will be an excellent singer. Michael King – Good voice. E Plus – I believed in him on the first song. Slight pitching problems but the potential is out of this world.

Rhiannon Hill; Ben Price – Well done for working the crowd but it’s a big stage use all of it. Good song choice. Stay in the performance when not singing. Pete Cunnah – Good voice but need to work on your mic technique. Michael King – Looks good but sound is dated.

Maisie Tooley; Ben Price – Missed a few notes unfortunately. Such a big song to take on you need to be able to reach those big ones. Big finish though well done. Pete Cunnah – Astonishing voice and star quality. Michael King – Looks great but the song was too big for her. E Plus – The song was too big for her.

Sophie Nixon; Ben Price - Guitar playing is a little basic. Needs to develop more technique. Put more feeling into the performance. You have a great voice. Pete Cunnah – Your voice a touch too gentle. Practice makes perfect. Good stuff! Chris Grayston – Guitar work needs to improve. Enjoyed the cover it suited her vocal style. Michael King – Sophie needs to learn to entertain. E Plus – It seemed a little half-hearted.

Shak; Ben Price – IMPACT! Well done. Cracking image. A better rapper than singer. Great performance. Pete Cunnah – I’m gonna buy your first record! Chris Grayston – Again, a well thought out performance. Michael King – Could do big things. E Plus – BIG! I understood every word which is important for MC’s. Semper Azeez-Harris – Very individual. Liked that he did something not heard every day in the charts.

Emily; Ben Price – Song choice made it hard to stand out. Annie Nightingale – Has a Dusty Springfield quality. Really lovely voice. Pete Cunnah – Diva voice, a bit more confidence and you’ll be there. E Plus – Note for note it was good, but I didn’t feel it. She needs to let go a little more.

Lynette Mutuota; Ben Price– Preferred the edgier look shown in previous rounds. Glamorous nonetheless. I like this girl she has loads of potential. Great song choice. Wow factor! Annie Nightingale – Very sophisticated for her age. She won me over with her performance, well done. Pete Cunnah – Stage performance is superb you’ve got ‘presence’. Get in control of that voice. Amazing! Chris Grayston – Sultry and good dynamics to build at the end. Used the stage well. Michael King – Star quality. E Plus – Potential is serious. Needs to watch her pitching. Semper Azeez-Harris – Oozes confidence and her voice is good. Loads of potential.

Singing competition awards winners – further feedback

Aaron & Milo; Ben Price – Nice guitar work. Not quite on time in places I think it needed to be rehearsed more. Work on harmonies. Annie Nightingale – The new Simon & Garfunkel? Pete Cunnah – Work on your vocals. There is room for another Simon & Garfunkel. Chris Grayston – Act would benefit from more distinctive harmonies. Guitars sounded out of tune. Michael King – They must remember music is entertainment. E Plus – Too casual in their appearance and their performance. Semper Azeez-Harris – Good guitar playing.

Caroline Eve; Ben Price – Good hooks in the original song and well performed. Love the rock image. Caroline offers something different. Would have been nice to see her engage with accompaniment. Annie Nightingale – Rock chick! Not quite original enough though. Pete Cunnah – Your writing is great. You remind me of Cher with your attitude and guts. Michael King – Like her. Dark and powerful. E Plus – Felt quite staged. Loved the vocals.

Vicky Turner; Ben Price - Best we’ve seen from Vicky. Great use of stage and looks fantastic. Just be careful all that stage work doesn’t leave you short of breath for the vocals. Annie Nightingale – Great  sequin outfit but dated material. Pete Cunnah – You’re a star! Chris Grayston – Impact with performance. Just a question mark on whether her vocal is strong enough for this song choice. Michael King – Star quality. E Plus – Very big performance. Needs to watch her breathing when dancing. Semper Azeez-Harris – Has a great voice but the voice needs work.

Macy Landon-Jones; Ben Price - Loads of star quality and swagger. The American accent devalues the performance though you have the ability to be a star just be yourself. Annie Nightingale – Very beauty pageant. Very professionally turned out. Very styled. Pete Cunnah – You’ve got guts. Good on ya! Chris Grayston – Loving the hat tricks! Michael King – In a few years she would be brilliant. E Plus – Good for the performance more than the vocals. She’s definitely on the right track though. Don’t stop. Semper Azeez-Harris – Has swagger to boot!

Tori Lamb; Ben Price - Very engaging performer well done for putting your own spin on the cover. You just need to develop your guitar playing. Annie Nightingale – Turned La Roux’s Bulletproof into Tori Amos. Unoriginal in vocal style though. Pete Cunnah – Lovely vibe about you. Strengthen those lungs and work on your vocal technique. Michael King – Star quality. E Plus – Nerves got the better of her. Needs to watch the notes in places. Semper Azeez-Harris – Needs more stage presence.

Leila Fay; Ben Price - Engaging performer it’s so easy to be drawn into Leila. Nice original song too. Leila has improved throughout the competition this is her best performance so far! Pete Cunnah – Your arrangement of the cover let you down. Your original was much better. Lovely! Chris Grayston – Lovely arrangement of the cover you made it your own. Very sensitive performance. Michael King – Like her. With good songs she could go far. E Plus – Would have liked to have heard more of the cover song than the ad-libs. I preferred the original. Semper Azeez-Harris – Like the fact she writes her own stuff.

Giles; Ben Price - Always a brilliant entertainer but you needed a more modern cover song. You have the stage performance sorted now work on refining the voice and you have something. Annie Nightingale – Great precision. Pete Cunnah – Eurovision beckons. Spirited! Chris Grayston – Very professional. Michael King – He entertained! Needs work. E Plus – Loved it. You’re on the right track.

Crystal Cooper; Ben Price - Didn’t like the song choice it ambles along without giving room to show full potential until very late on. Very strong image. Great voice, well done enjoyed it. Annie Nightingale – Classic voice, lots of oomph in it. Pete Cunnah – Study Shirley Bassey. Well done. Stage craft. Chris Grayston – Vocally very strong but she slides too often. Michael King – OK. She needs to stand out more. E Plus – Nicely sung. Watch your pitching towards the end of the song.

Izzy Wood; Ben Price - Nice voice but needs work on range. Felt nerves played a big part in this performance. Well done for working the stage a little. Annie Nightingale – Wearing that black dress reminded me of the Topshop one I love. Covering Adele not necessarily a good idea. Pete Cunnah – Wrong song choice it exposed weaknesses in your voice. Great timbre though. Chris Grayston – Good interaction with the audience. E Plus – The keyboardist shouldn’t harmonise with Izzy. Breathing was on point but pitching was wobbly.

Rosanna O’Brien; Ben Price - Very much one of my favourites. She has a certain quality about her. Would like to see more technical keyboard work. Keep writing that is a very good song. Annie Nightingale – Big voice. Very distinctive. Didn’t engage me though. Pete Cunnah – I like your song. A little too Adele, but good. Great voice, loved it. Chris Grayston – What a fantastic original. Made the cover song her own also. Michael King – Cool!

Alejandro; Ben Price - He has an alluring quality. Very engaging and the girls will love him. Vocals need polishing though if you’re to make it. Annie Nightingale – Reminds me of Brett Anderson from Suede. Pete Cunnah – Not quite in control of your voice but great tone. Great stage presence. Cool! Chris Grayston – Never reached the standards and crowd reaction of his Area Final performance. Michael King – Wrong choice of song!!! E Plus – Good effort. Semper Azeez-Harris – Struggled with the song but he can sing. The girls love him, that sells records too. 

Zenani; Ben Price - Nice image. Great voice you really hit those notes. The song lends itself to a great dynamic though which you could have delivered a little better in parts. Use the full stage to draw in the audience. Annie Nightingale – She has a great voice but hasn’t found herself yet, which is fine. Pete Cunnah – Lower register struggles but a star voice. With practice you’ll take more control. Michael King – Something is missing. E Plus – Struggled in places but good effort. Semper Azeez-Harris – Good voice., lots of potential.

Ellie Higgs; Ben Price - Wow. The surprise act of the show for me. Great song choice, performance. Works the stage well. Annie Nightingale – Very soulful voice. Lots of potential, very self-assured. Bad ass! Pete Cunnah – Great stage presence. Brave vocal movements in that accapella break. Star! Michael King – Very good. E Plus – I would have liked her to push herself more. The performance seemed too casual.

The Peppermints; Ben Price - Very cute. Voices have so much maturing to do before you can really begin to mould the act, really nice medley well done girls. Annie Nightingale – Like Little Mix. Really loveable. Five really young girls who really get it. Huge potential. Pete Cunnah – More work on those harmonies. The key was too low to start with. Great! Chris Grayston – Had a great competition, they just need to crank it up to the next level now. Background music just seemed too simplistic. Michael King – Keep doing your thing. E Plus – I liked the choice of tracks and was smiling throughout.

Mollie Scott; Ben Price - Very classy look. Missed a few notes in the mid-section. Stay in the performance throughout even when not singing. Use the stage Mollie. Annie Nightingale – Lots of fans but she seemed to be too old for her age. Pete Cunnah – A little flat with one or two tuning issues. You started off really well but lost your way slightly. Overall good. Chris Grayston – Needed more performance. Powerful song sung powerfully but needed a powerful performance! Michael King – With work could be very good. E Plus – She can definitely sing, but something was missing for me.

Singing competition awards winners – enter now!

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