Owlerton Stadium finds Sheffield’s singing sensation

Date: 28/05/2012. Story submitted by: JamesE

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After three weeks, over 200 people and thousands of song choices, the search is finally over.

Owlerton Greyhound Stadium’s Grand Karaoke winner and the next ‘voice of Sheffield’ has been named as Leanne Fotheringham from Worksop.

Schoolgirl Leanne stormed the final of Owlerton’s Grand Karaoke competition with her upbeat rendition of Plan B’s ‘She Said’ which took her through to the final five where she wowed the judges with her vocals on Alicia Key’s ‘Empire State of Mind’.

Leanne, 16, is planning to spend her £1,000 prize on demo recordings to invest in her future singing career.

Leanne said: “I can’t believe I won. So many people entered and the standard of talent has been so high during the final. I’m so excited about using this as an opportunity to launch my career.”

The Grand Final event saw 15 finalists battle it out in front of a live audience.

Presiding over the evening were the judging panel Alex Alexandrou, who launched Robbie Williams solo career, and former Top of the Pops producer Ric Blaxill.

Speaking at the Grand Final on Sunday night, Ric Blaxill said: “The quality of the contestants tonight has been fantastic and definitely out shines the musical talent seen on recent TV shows.

"Leanne is a most deserving winner, her personality perfectly matched her incredible vocal ability. I predict big things for her.”

The 10 finalists were compiled from three weeks of open auditions and heats, and five wild card entries who decided to showcase their talent by turning up to the final.

John Gilburn, MD of Owlerton Greyhound Stadium said: “Sheffield has an impressive musical heritage, and so we thought it would be fitting to host a Karaoke competition here at the Stadium.

“We have been blown away by the talent throughout the region. It was incredibly difficult to narrow down the finalists but despite a tough battle I believe we have found Sheffield’s latest star. Congratulations to Leanne.”

Additional info

Address: Penistone Road Sheffield South Yorkshire S6 2DE

Tags: Owlerton Greyhound Stadium Karaoke winner