Meet the Junior Star Singer Songwriter judges

Junior Star Singer is reaching its time for the final this year on December 3rd, where contestants from each location will be selected to compete for the final prize. 

The winner will get the chance to sing and song write with a top record producer in London Anthony Goldsbrough to produce one track which will be played across 20 radio stations next year for the Junior Star Singer Songwriter Radio Tour 2017.  It's a fantastic opportunity for any young artist who wants a platform into the music industry. They will also get the chance to sing at a music awards night in Bristol on December 11th where there will be TV, radio and A &R record company executives from the industry present on the night.

Anthony Goldsbrough is a songwriter and record producer.  He is also a session singer to artists including Ed Sheeran, Hozier, Bastille, Julian Lennon, Olly Murs, Josh Groban, Bonnie Tyler and many more.  He is currently working on a songwriting project with other session musicians in the industry calling their group 'Ironlines'.  So look out for more news on them!  Their track 'Voices' will be played at the final.   Listen to Anthony's latest interview with Amanda Neale on his tips for the finalists before the grand final on December 3rd for Junior Star Singer Songwriter.

Amanda with Anthony Goldsbrough

Adam Faires is our other mentor and judge for Junior Star Singer Songwriter this year.  Adam Faires was one of the judges for Junior Star Singer last year when it appeared on DKW Sky TV show and the contestants came from Italia Conti.  Adam is a Synchronisation Manager for Global Entertainment, Global Talent Publishing Ltd. He deals with all aspects of synchronisation for Global's music catalogue including acts such as Ellie Goulding, The Vaccines, LMFAO and Lawson.  Listen to his interview with Amanda Neale host and founder of the tour and what he thinks is important for any artist to make it in the business.

Adam Faires (centre), with Amanda, Rachael and some famous friends....

Meet Halifax's finalist - Emily Taylor Smith

Following the success of the Junior Star Singer Radio Tour for 2016, we are pleased to announce the finalist for the Halifax region is Emily Taylor- Smith.  We managed to catch her practicing her vocals down at Bedfordshire's Lost Boys Studio where she gave us a rendition of Taylor Smith's song 'Love Story'.  

Emily is really excited about being in the final for Junior Star Singer, and enjoying already developing her singing, songwriting and performance skills.  Check her out below and look out for her entry on December 3rd for the final.  Good luck Emily!

Meet Tabitha Jade, Liverpool's finalist for Junior Star Singer!

Tabitha Jade is the finalist contestant representing Liverpool, with already an outstanding career in music. An ambitious young artist, she has already built a following in and around Liverpool. Tabitha is keen to win Junior Star Singer to gain a national platform for her music.

Amanda Neale joined Tabitha on TV channel Made in Liverpool's show 'The Lowdown' recently to talk about the competition and what lies in store for the final. Tabitha sang one of her original tracks - look out for this on The Lowdown  when it airs mid-November.

Good luck Tabitha Jade - see you at the final!

You can catch a sneak preview of her performance below:

Introducing Bradford's finalist - Shania Rowe!

Shania Rowe is an aspiring singer-songwriter from Bradford who entered Junior Star Singer Songwriter this year. She has now been selected to go through to the final on December 3rd.  Shania is known for her great song-writing capability, writing numerous tracks during her spare time.  

She is hoping to go on and start her first demo following her success on the Junior Star Singer Tour.  

Check out her interview and performance of Emily Sande's latest song 'Hurt'.  Shania was nursing a virus that week, but with sheer dedication and hard work, she wouldn't let that stand in her way.  Even though she was congested.....she still produces some great vocals!  
Good luck at the final Shania!

Making the (Surrey) hills alive with the sound of music

Left to right: Dan Joyce, Rachael Summers, Amanda Neale, Georgia Lois and Phil

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PICTURES FROM THE SHOW

Having already been the main presenter of Brookland's Future Starz on Brooklands Radio, Amanda Neale was really excited about the chance to bring Junior Star Singer onto another Surrey based radio station.  She was joined by Rachael Summers again as her co-host and with special guest Georgia Lois who sang her wonderful track 'Choose' at the end of the show.  

Amanda, Rachael and Georgia made their way to Leatherhead again with a good cup of coffee for the early morning breakfast show.  

These early starts are proving to be a bit hard on the presenters but they love the buzz of the show anyway and are full steam ahead ready to greet contestants!!

Surrey Hills Radio station is based in Leatherhead Town Centre amongst a lovely array of swanky coffee shops and high street stores. Leatherhead is not a large town but quite a small, warm welcoming  one with a selection of shops, activities, and events that draw people from nearby towns and villages.  The town has some stunning countryside that surrounds the whole of leatherhead with well-marked paths and guided walking routes.  Surrey Hills Radio is a fun, exciting radio station that goes out onto the internet.   It is well known for receiving songs from unsigned artists who want to have their songs played on air and also supporting local musicians and vocalists.  The presenter Dan Joyce really welcomed Junior Star Singer as a national competition after interviewing Amanda on his live breakfast show.  Check out the interview here:

Contestants for JSS came from the Surrey Area to greet presenters at Surrey Hills Radio before 9am so well done folks!!!! 

We listened to entries from Helen Houlahan, performing 'Wings' by Birdy and T-J , performing 'Set fire to the rain' by Adele. Check out their performances here:

The Surrey Hills Radio show is the latest in our tour which is also helping to raise awareness of the Youth Music charity, which helps disadvantaged youngesters in the UK to realise their potential through music. If you'd like to donate to the charity, please text “TOUR11 £5” to 70070.

We are nearly close to finishing now for the Junior Star Singer Songwriter Radio Tour 2016 so keep a look out on all the blogs for further information on who will get selected for the final.  Contestants will be invited to come down to a recording studio and sing to compete in the final.  They will have to sing a verse and chorus of a track written by the main presenter Amanda Neale.  Out of these finalists, one winner will be chosen and their track will be played across all 20 radio stations next year for the Junior Star Singer Songwriter Radio Tour in 2017.  Rachael Summers will also be performing at the final.  Look out for the next show at West Side Radio in November and any further updates on our Junior Star Singer website.

Thanks to Dan Joyce and all the team for a very fun wacky show.  See you next time.

Good Luck contestants!!!!!!!!!!

XXX

They did like to be beside the seaside - JSS goes to Margate!

It was another early start for the Junior Star Singer Songwriter team, as presenter Amanda Neale and co-host Rachael Summers made their way to the seaside town of Margate. Joining them on their travels was budding young singer and songwriter Georgia Lois.

Georgia Lois has just recorded her demo with record producer Anthony Goldsborough who has acted as a mentor on the radio tour. Georgia's style is folk pop and now since recording her demo, Georgia is due to do her first promotional video this December. From a very early age, Georgia has been singing and writing her tracks developing new folk sounds.  Now singing like a songbird, Georgia will be taking time out to have her first promotional video recorded before Christmas. This will be available to see on her website Singer called Georgia Lois.

While you've got your internet browser open, make sure to also check out Rachael Summers' latest song 'It's not 'Over for me' - you can watch the video on the videos page of her website. The song is also featured on her latest EP which she has been busy promoting on the JSS tour this year.  Her tracks will also be promoted on the new tour next year. 

Her latest song 'Livin the Dream' will be filmed in a music video later on next month, so watch out for any blurb on Twitter and Facebook.  Rachael will be teaching contestants the steps to the track which have been choreographed by herself.  There will also be a promotional video for this with contestants from the JSS tour to come out later next year.  If you are interested in being in the video and have competed in the JSS tour, then contact us now through the Junior Star Singer Songwriter website reference 'music video'.

Margate, where we held September's Junior Star Singer  is bursting with artistic energy.  It is a traditional holiday town with loads of charm and even has a world-class art gallery to top it all off. There are sandy beaches, sparkling bays, quirky cafes, retro shops and in the midst of all this a surge of creative energy. Amanda and Rachael were really excited to be in this seaside town to listen to the talent around Kent. The contestants competing from Seaside Radio were: 

• Jake Wareham singing his own rendition of ‘I write sins not tragedies’ by Panic! at the disco
• Holly Brown singing ‘Yours’ by Ella Henderson
• Maria Batucan singing ‘One Last Time’ by Ariana Grande

Left to right: Caroline Palmer of Margate Seaside Radio, contestants Maria Batucan, Holly Brown and Jake Wareham, with JSS hosts Amanda and Rachael

Take a look at how well the contestants did.  They were all buzzing with nerves and excitement all at the same time.  With a very electric atmosphere, they all did so well!!  We can’t wait to hear who goes through to the final from sandy Margate.

To look out for further information and news on the Junior Star Singer Songwriter Radio Tour, do tune in to all of our blogs and of course onto our Junior Star Singer website. 

We're wondering now we are close to the end of the radio tour this year, who are the possible contenders for this year?  What are the views of the mentors so far?  Tune into our next radio show for JSS on the tour at Surrey Hills Radio on October 1st which will be live on the Breakfast show with presenter Dan Joyce.


See you all soon XXX

OK in MK - Junior Star Singer Songwriter rocks the city of concrete cows!

The Junior Star Singer team were on the road again through Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire for the Junior Star Singer Radio Tour in Milton Keynes this time at Secklow Sounds.  Contestants came from surrounding areas all over areas like Bedford, Kempston and Milton Keynes.

With over 200 shops and restaurants in the centre of Milton Keynes, the city is fast attracting a reputation for more than just its famous concrete cows (see below).  

Milton Keynes has helped to give housing to 250,000 people over recent years.  One of the main reasons for the success of this project is the design which was created by urban planners and architects.  They created a strongly modernist design and used the grid  square system for layout.  Milton Keynes now accommodates a vast array of businesses and is a social point for young people as well providing a cinema, ice skating rink, bowling centre and also a radio station called Secklow Sounds......

Secklow Sounds is a fantastic radio station bringing a mixture of different music and collective sounds to Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.  Amanda Neale was really pleased when she was asked to host Junior Star Singer this year on the station.  The contestants were Mahdiya, Morgan, Washeera Basutu and Rochelle Blake who were all competing for the Milton Keynes area.  Good luck to all those wonderful contestants.

Amanda has been busy promoting Junior Star Singer Songwriter not only on Secklow Sounds but also on BBC Three Counties on the Yasmeen Khan show.  She has featured as a regular panellist discussing topics of news and entertainment in the Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire area.

The Secklow Sounds radio show is the latest in our tour which is also helping to raise awareness of the Youth Music charity, which helps disadvantaged youngesters in the UK to realise their potential through music. If you'd like to donate to the charity, please text “TOUR11 £5” to 70070.

Look out for further information on who are the winners for the Junior Star Singer Songwriter Radio Tour, as winners will be announced at the back end of this year. Judges Adam Faires and Anthony Goldsbrough will be picking one winner from each location and then these winners will be singing their way to the top for the final prize.........the chance to sing and song write with a top record producer and then have their song played across all the radio stations for the tour next year.  Stay tuned!!  For further news, plus information on how to sign up to next year's competition,  see Junior Star Singer - a singing talent competition for 10-16 year olds.