Woolton Hill teenager in finals of local music awards
BRIT Award style line-up with live perfomances
A WOOLTON Hill singer has reached the finals of the Basingstoke Music Awards being held today (Saturday).
Emma Lawrence, aged 18, has been shortlisted for three awards – Best Female Artist, Best Video and Best Single, the latter for her charity single You Are.
The awards, which take place at Queen Mary’s College, Basingstoke, will follow the format of the BRIT awards – the British Phonographic Industry’s annual pop music awards and the British equivalent of the American Grammy awards.
The singer/songwriter has been writing and performing since she was 15.
“Her songs are written from the heart and inspired by the challenges and influences experienced by young people every day,” said her mother, Vicki Kyle-Lawrence.
“Her strong folky voice resonates distinctly with her style of music which carries well both on the big stage or more intimate surroundings and as a result she has established a strong following.”
Emma has already released three EPs, reflecting her ability to mix genres of folk, jazz and rock through her arrangements and she has had two top chart hits in the iTunes singer/songwriter charts.
“Emma’s music is a fusion of folk and pop and clearly expresses the emotions of her songs,” said Damon Sawyer, producer at Platform Studios.
“Her sound crosses the borders of Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey and Adele, but has its own unique quality and style.
“Her inspiration comes from such artists as Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Emeli Sandé.”
A well-known local performer, Emma has performed in the last few years at Glastonbury, Basingstoke Live!, Newbury Real Ale Festival, Caversham Festival and Warminster Punchbowl Festival, along with music venues throughout the south and London.
National runner-up in the Open Mic UK original songwriting competition in 2014, she is currently studying at the music industry college BIMM in Bristol, which has spawned such talent as George Ezra, James Bay and The Kooks.
For more on this story pick up a copy of the Newbury Weekly News on Thursday and turn to the Hampshire pages.
