Evening Telegraph (Northants)
Is Faryl the next Charlotte Church?
By Becky Inman
A SCHOOLGIRL songbird is hoping to become the next Charlotte Church when she sings in front of the man who discovered the Welsh star.
Faryl Smith, 12, a student at Southfield School, in Kettering, will perform Ave Maria in front of Jonathan Shalit, who discovered the Welsh opera star, and Rosetta Bain who manages Joss Stone.
Faryl impressed judges at the Festival 4 Stars heat in Liverpool, when she was up against 40 other children, including a singer from the Sound of Music West End stage show.
Mum Linda said: "Even though this was a pop music competition, of all the people the judges saw, they talked about Faryl the most and invited her to be a guest singer at their songwriting awards."
The songwriting competition to be held at the five star Grange City Hotel in London will also have judges responsible for launching the careers of TV stars Ant and Dec.
The evening will feature performances from stars of the future who have been hand-picked by the judging panel.
Faryl also won a place in the final of the solo singing competition in Glasgow, where she will compete against the 12 other heat winners in November.
The young singer, whose idol is Katharine Jenkins, previously won an international competition when she was 10.
Mrs Smith added: "Faryl sings classical songs because the natural ability of her voice suits them – she is very lucky.
"Although her friends like pop music, they do enjoy it and support her completely. Even though this is a great experience she is very grounded and not one to show off."
Faryl said: "I do enjoy singing pop songs, but I prefer to do classical singing."
Last year's winner of the Festival 4 Stars competition, Dominic Harris, is currently on X-Factor in Simon Cowell's group.
To view the short video associated with this article click here
Faryl impressed judges at the Festival 4 Stars heat in Liverpool, when she was up against 40 other children, including a singer from the Sound of Music West End stage show.
Mum Linda said: "Even though this was a pop music competition, of all the people the judges saw, they talked about Faryl the most and invited her to be a guest singer at their songwriting awards."
The songwriting competition to be held at the five star Grange City Hotel in London will also have judges responsible for launching the careers of TV stars Ant and Dec.
The evening will feature performances from stars of the future who have been hand-picked by the judging panel.
Faryl also won a place in the final of the solo singing competition in Glasgow, where she will compete against the 12 other heat winners in November.
The young singer, whose idol is Katharine Jenkins, previously won an international competition when she was 10.
Mrs Smith added: "Faryl sings classical songs because the natural ability of her voice suits them – she is very lucky.
"Although her friends like pop music, they do enjoy it and support her completely. Even though this is a great experience she is very grounded and not one to show off."
Faryl said: "I do enjoy singing pop songs, but I prefer to do classical singing."
Last year's winner of the Festival 4 Stars competition, Dominic Harris, is currently on X-Factor in Simon Cowell's group.
To view the short video associated with this article click here