Young girl band Sparkle makes Open Mic UK finals

Eleven-year-olds Campbell Daniels, Holly Bentham and Lily Gowland, all from Hartlepool, and Lottie Willis, 10, from Peterlee, make up the group which has qualified for the area finals of the Open Mic UK singing contest.

They did it by impressing the judges at the regional section with a medley of pop songs for the live performance at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle.

All of the group’s members are students with Miss Toni’s Academy of Singing and Performing Arts which is based in Park Road, in Hartlepool.

Open Mic UK 2014 is the biggest search for unsigned talent in the UK and travels the country every year searching for the UK’s best singers and singer-songwriters.

Events co-ordinator Chris Grayston said: “This is just one step from the Grand Final now!

“They have done so well so far, with this year’s standard being the highest I can remember; an extremely high standard of talent indeed.”

The area final showcases will provide acts with the opportunity to impress guests from the music and entertainment industry.

The competition is held by Future Music and previous judges to Future Music competitions include DJs that have worked for Radio 1 such as Ras Kwame, Daniel P Carter and Annie Nightingale MBE.