Competition hope for Littlehampton singer

Sophia Hamilton, a 15-year-old Littlehampton Academy student, has made it through to the regional finals of national vocalist competition, Open Mic. The overall winner will record an album and tour the country.

"I have been singing since I was about two," she said.

"My first performance was as Mary in a nursery school Christmas play, and I sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

"At the time, people said that I had a really strong voice, and it is something that I have kept up ever since."

The next round of the competition will be held at the Hove Centre on October 10, but Sophia is still in shock from her last success.

"It was an audition, and I went in with four other girls, who all sounded fantastic.

"I really didn't think I had got through.

"When I sing I go into my own little world, and I didn't think I had done enough, but when they said I had got through, I was really, really shocked, and didn't know what to say."

She added that she was nervous about the coming show, but was preparing and practising hard.

"I am going to sing the same song, Underneath Your Clothes, by Shakira, because it suits my voice, and people say I am good at it, so I don't want to risk trying something else."

On the prospects for her future, Sophia said: "I have always wanted to sing. It's all I ever wanted."

Currently studying for her GCSEs, she hopes to go to The Brit School, a music college in Croydon, next year.

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