Kelly Etchells, stage name Just Kelly from Crawley has just made it through the regional finals and is now into the final stages! Kelly will now be performing for a place at the Live and Unsigned National Grand Final.

Kelly impressed the judges with her audition, with thousands of entrants from all over the UK. Kelly then went on to perform live on stage at the regional final in Bedford. Kelly dazzled the crowd with her winning performance and is now set to perform at the area final, the last stage before the Live and Unsigned Festival at the 02 London. The final is Saturday 8th May 2010 at the Corn Exchange, St Paul’s Square, Bedford MK40 1SL at 14.45.

Just Kelly

The Judges

Some of the biggest names in the industry will be judging the competition. This years judges include the legendary Noddy Holder, Radio 1’s Greg James and Annie Nightingale, Urban DJ, Presenter and Radio 1’s Ras Kwame, BBC Introducing’s Bethan Elfyn, TV presenter Gail Porter, legendary drummer Darren Ashford who’s played with the likes of The Backstreet Boys, Black Eyed Peas and Lionel Richie, and record producer Steve Lyon, who will all be casting their eye over the unsigned talent.

Live and Unsigned is the biggest original music competition in the UK for unsigned bands and artists. Attracting over 30, 000 entries in the past three years, it’s set itself apart from its predecessors by offering and promoting live, original music. It’s now established as the definitive music competition for original acts and it’s open to all genres of music from heavy rock to rap.

What are the acts battling it out for?

The chance to play on the main stage of the Live and Unsigned Festival at the 02 in London on 10th July. There’s also plenty of opportunities and awards up for grabs along the way, with a prize pool worth over £75, 000. The overall winner of the competition will be offered a recording and management contract with Future Music with an investment of up to £30, 000 to release their single and they’ll get the opportunity to develop their own clothing brand to sell online and in retail with Extreme State.

The competition provides acts with a host of opportunities to develop and expose their talent. There is an array of free master classes on offer with ICMP including drums, bass, guitar and vocal. The master classes are with some of the best names in the industry including drummer Pat Petrillo who has played with Gloria Gaynor and Patti Lebelle and a bass lesson with Lawrence Cottle who has worked with Eric Clapton and The Bee Gees. These classes will give acts the opportunity to not only learn new techniques and develop their performance skills, but they’ll also have the opportunity to take part in exclusive Q&A sessions. There’s also plenty of exposure opportunities for acts this year, including editorial coverage in some of the UK’s most popular magazines and websites. Other prizes on offer include festival slots, clothing, media exposure, days out and recording time.

Chris Grayston, Events Director of Live & Unsigned explains “We’re all about originality, live ability and credibility. There’s over £75, 000 in prizes up for grabs this year so there’s plenty of opportunities for all acts taking part, not just for the winner! We’ve got some fantastic judges on board this year who will all be bringing their wealth of experience with them. With the Live and Unsigned Festival scheduled for the best venue in the country, the 02 in London, this really is going to be the biggest year for the competition yet!”

The winners of 2010 will be thrust into the media spotlight through television, radio and the press and will be given the opportunity to tour the UK. Acts who have caught the judge’s eye this year are the local talent from Crawley, now competing in the Area Final. They made it through the regional finals at Bedford amongst some of the UK’s finest under the radar acts. They are now preparing for the Area Final for the opportunity to progress towards the Live and Unsigned festival at the O2 in London.

For more information go to the website; www.LiveandUnsigned.UK.com

Crawley Happy Times would like to wish Kelly all the best of luck for a successful audition and for a great future