The Voice of Ferndown

Report by Janine Pulford

Emma-Jane Toop won the audience’s hearts as well as the judges’ votes at the final of the Voice of Ferndown on 17 April.

Performing to a full house at the Barrington Theatre, she sang her own composition ‘How to Breathe’.

Her prize of studio time with Brian Oliver at Basement Studio in Wimborne will certainly boost her career. She also won £100 when the audience voted her their favourite too.

The evening was well organised, well supported and showcased some of the most talented people in the area.

2nd was Catherine Smith (23), 3rd Melissa Barton (22), and 4th Charlie Woodford (16).

Previous winners, Harmony Twist, also sang. They had spent the last two years touring, so fans will be disappointed to learn the girls have now decided to disband.

Chairman of East Dorset District Council Robin Cook made the presentations.

A retiring collection was made for the John Thornton Young Achievers’ Foundation.

For more details about the winner and those placed, read the May issue of 4Dorset.

Here are the judges comments about the acts, given in the running order:

1. Charlie Woodford singing and playing guitar (16): ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (Van Morrison)
Matt – very rounded and professional performance.
Catherine Gray – fantastic. You were confident and self-assured.

2. Catherine Smith (23): ‘The Prayer’, (Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli)
Steve – amazing vocal range, absolutely perfect. I loved it.
Jaxx – everyone’s eyes were watching you. Your control was flawless.

3. Mark Ansted, award winning violinist using electric violin – mash up including ‘I Did It My Way’ (Frank Sinatra). An exceptional violinist, Mark did not sing and did it ‘his’ way.
Brian – entertaining. Frank Sinatra with a bit of drum and bass.
Matt – good control, you have picked something out of the ordinary.

4. Amie Knight (18) a country singer from Ringwood bit the bullet and sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ (Dolly Parton, also Whitney Houston)
Steve Saville – you nailed that one, you have a powerful voice and country twang.
Catherine Gray – I could tell you were nervous, but there was no need to be, you pulled it off.

5. Annelies Paris chose ‘Bridge Over Trouble Waters’ (Simon and Garfunkel)
Jaxx – enjoyed it. You’ve got a lovely tone. You are good and need to have a bit more self belief.
Steve – brave choice. You’ve got good potential.

6. Jenny Oag sang ‘Let It Go’ from “Frozen”
Matt – you’re comfortable on stage. It was a difficult song to sing. Couldn’t fault it. Absolutely brilliant technical ability.
Brian – clearly got a great voice and a lot of power and sensitivity. It was a proper performance. I really enjoyed it.

7. Katie Laurilla played the ukulele and sang ‘Royals’ (Lorde).
Brian – the ukulele is one of the world’s most underrated instruments, you did a great job. It was original and good fun.
Matt – very good.

8. Nicole McNally (14) sang ‘The Climb’.
Steve – what a great voice, I hear the passion.
Jaxx – I love that, you are the first person who got up this evening and evoked emotion. At 14-years-old you’ve got control and range. You know your voice and what you’re doing on stage.

9. Emma-Jane Toop (16) on guitar played her own composition ‘How to Breathe’.
Brian – lovely voice and playing style, very recordable. You’ve got such a unique voice, it takes you on a journey. I felt quite encapsulated by it.
Catherine – could be a number one hit. Absolutely brilliant.
Jaxx – I felt like I was the only one in the room. The ambience your voice creates is beautiful.

10. Carolos Anthony Heath –  Make You Feel My Love (Adele)
Matt – absolutely brilliant performance. You’ve got control over your voice. Horsepower galore, you’ve got some reins on it.
Catherine – stage presence was fantastic. Take it down a bit. Your falsetto is fantastic.
Brian – you’ve got power and passion. You can go from a musical note to a shout, it’s a fine line. Keep control of it.

Lauren Fitzgerald – Rainy Days and Mondays (The Carpenters)
Very mature voice for your age. You’re going places.
Jaxx – vocally flawless. Beautiful. I wanted more performance, give the audience what they want.
Matt disagreed – it was cool, calm and understated confidence and I think you did it right. Brilliant performance.

Karl Vogts – Skyfall (Adele)
Catherine – a silky smooth voice. Could be more proactive to give a stage performance.
Matt –  like the way you use the mike. Fantastic technique.
Brian – singing an Adele number could be a car crash waiting to happen, but you totally hit those notes.

Melissa Barton – Believe (Cher)
Never heard it sung like that. Range of voice was right down there. Love it. Just fantastic.
Brian – loved the low down notes. Great, really original. Fresh, you’ve got a cracking voice.

This post was edited on 22 April 2015