Lee England is flying the flag for South Yorkshire at 02 in London

Yorkshire lad Lee England works as a full time for a steel fabrication company during the day but has always had a love and talent for singing. On a recent trip to Disney World he entered the show Song in America at Hollywood Studios and he won the competition to perform in front of an audience of 1 thousand! That was it for Lee, he had to go and see if he could make it! In spring 2012 Lee auditioned for Open Mic

Performing Live at the O2

The competition attracts over 8, 000 acts every year in the search for the UK’s best singers, singer/songwriters, rappers and vocalists. Open Mic UK provides the opportunity to perform live to capacity audiences at some of the best venues in the country, – including within Sheffield City Hall and The O2 in London! The show provides performers the opportunity to get advice from Record Industry A & R, Celebrity Judges and Industry Experts.

When Lee auditioned for the initial round he wanted to go for the experience but after a number of heats in both local and regional competitions Lee came out on top. He is now waving the flag for South Yorkshire as he heads to London for the Open Mic Final.

Taking it seriously

“I’ve been singing for pleasure for about 3 years now and love it. In the last year things have really moved forward, I auditioned for the Open Mic competition and I have made it through every round to the finals at the O2 in London this weekend, it’s very exciting!

I am taking it really seriously so in order to help me develop I have been attending Harmony Music School.  I never had music lessons at school so they have really helped me to understand how music works, my technique and my musical knowledge plus the singing lessons have really helped my confidence to grow to a different level. It is a great set up and everybody is so helpful and friendly, you can tell they really want to help me move forward with my singing.

I can’t wait for Saturday the Open Mic final is a great shop window for me as I work full time during the day, I just want to perform to my best and anything could happen.”

Helping to train musicians

Harmony Music School have helped a number of students through competitions such as Open Mic, Live and Unsigned, X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. The school owner Aubrey Robinson understands the importance of preparing people for such big events. “I have been working in the industry all my life and have performed with many artists like Russell Watson and Jane MacDonald and I understand how difficult it can be to get those first opportunities. Talent shows are now one of the main ways to get a foot in which is why our partnership with Open Mic is really important. We have lots of students at the school who want to make it in the music industry and being able to train them as musicians, coach them through competitions and provide them with the skills and tools they need to succeed is a big part of what we do. We are all really pleased for Lee; he has a great voice and deserves the chance. We are all behind him and we will be supporting him at the 02 on Saturday”.

If you want to help Lee on Saturday but can’t be there you can do so by joining in on the national vote, text OPEN 79 to 86222. Lee is currently in 4th place….come on everyone we can get him to 1st!

Text votes are UK only and cost £1 plus one message at your standard operator rate. Texting a correct code is the user’s responsibility, so please check your text carefully before sending. Texts will not count after the closing time 10pm on January 19th although you may still be charged after the lines are closed.

For more information about the competition or to enter this years please visit www.openmicuk.co.uk