Local student shines in UK’s biggest live talent contest

Withington student Michaela Turner-Millar and her band have been given the big thumbs up by the audition panel for the 2009 Live and Unsigned competition – one of the biggest talent searches for original music acts in the UK.

Michaela, 21, who is currently studying for a Foundation Degree in Business Management at the college, confidently showed off her vocals in front of an audition panel made up of industry professionals and representatives from record labels. The panel of experts was blown away by her talent and promptly put her band through to one of the 13 regional finals being held across England and Scotland.

If she impresses the judges at the regional heat at The Willows in Salford on 29 March, Michaela and her band will go through to the North West area final in May, where they will be competing for a place in the national final. The overall national winner of the competition will be offered a professional recording and management contract with Future Music, with an investment of up to £20,000 to release their first single.

Michaela said: ‘We’re really excited about the exposure Live and Unsigned will give us if we get through to the national finals. We need as much support as we can get from our friends and fans. The initial auditions were quite scary but we’re really looking forward to the next round. All we want to do now is put on a great show at the regional finals and hopefully we’ll get enough votes from the judges and the audience to get us through the area finals.’

In its third year, the competition has attracted thousands of unsigned acts from all over the UK and from all genres of music, including indie, urban, pop, acoustic and metal. Chris Grayston, Events Director of Live and Unsigned, said: ‘This competition cannot be compared to any other talent search. We are interested in discovering and exposing talent at its best; live! It is as simple as we say – get live, get signed.’

Paul King from Future Music, who is better known in the music industry as the former manager of Tears for Fears and Level 42, said: ‘We have found that the competition is so effective for us to discover talented acts and bands and to place them in the music marketplace. We can really see those acts that have the commitment and fan base to be successful in the industry, and for the acts involved it is a great opportunity to develop, improve and impress.’

The winner will be crowned the UK’s best Live and Unsigned act in June in front of a capacity crowd, including many record company A&Rs, celebrities and other entertainment professionals from the music industry.