Olivia wins through to final of national singing competition

A 14-year-old girl from Appleton Thorn has reached the finals of the national Open Mic UK singing competition.
Olivia Mae Booth has already won through the regional and area finals – the North West and the Midlands – and will now sing at the national finals at the O2 in London on February 1.
About 10-12,000 singers enter the competition for unsigned artists every year and Olivia will have a chance in both the Under 16 age group and the open age category meaning she could be the grand winner.
The former Bridgewater High School pupil’s talent for singing first showed when, as a young child, she started singing along to pop songs.
Singing lessons confirmed she had a natural talent and, after two years at Bridgewater High she moved to a specialist performing arts school in Chester.
Here, she got a chance to sing to audiences of more than 300 but it was only when she entered the preliminary rounds of Open Mic UK that she found herself in front of really big audiences.
Proud Mum Gaynor said: “We don’t know where she got it from – nobody else in the family has been much of a singer. But right from the start her singing teachers have recognised she had a natural ability.
“Now we are all excited about her appearing in the finals. We have been told it is one of the toughest singing competitions in the country but Olivia is very determined and we are obviously hopeful.”
Part of the winner’s prize is a recording contract.