News

Open Mic UK Winner Birdy Set For US Tour

• 9th Aug 2012

Open Mic UK winner Birdy is set to make her live debut on US soil with three dates followed by a European tour which concludes at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. This coincides with the release of her new “Live From London” EP and hot off the heels of her successful self-titled debut album, which has topped charts across Europe along with her rendition of Bon Iver’s Skinny Love.

Playing venues including Hollywood’s legendary Roxy Theatre and New York’s Joe’s Pub, which have played host to acts including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Amy Winehouse and Prince, the tour shows Birdy taking her sound to new audiences, adding yet another item on to her musical résumé which began with winning Open Mic UK and went on to signing with Warner, releasing her debut album which went gold in the UK and platinum in Europe, racking up over a hundred million views on YouTube and contributing songs to film soundtracks including The Hunger Games and Brave.

Her new eight-song live EP captures the sixteen year-old New Forest girl who won Open Mic UK captivating the audience at London’s The Tabernacle. Now preparing for her US tour, she said on Twitter “Getting ready for my American tour, I can't believe there's only a few days to go!”

Birdy went up against 9,000 hopeful artists in the Open Mic UK national music competition. It’s a process that starts all over again very soon with auditions for this year’s competition starting in Bristol. Birdy swept through the auditions into the regional and area finals to her eventual win at the National Grand Final singing her own song ‘So Be Free’.

Open Mic UK is the largest national music competition for singers and solo artists in the UK. The competition travels across the country every year in search of the UK's best singers, singer/songwriters, rappers and vocalists, and is open to all genres, so whether you’re into R’n’B, Rap, Acoustic, Pop or Classical – Open Mic UK has it all! Acts can perform either covers or original material and they’ll be invited to a live audition in front of the judging panel.

Birdy recently reminisced about the experience of playing in front of a thousand people at the Open Mic UK Grand Final as “such a cool experience” to Radio One. She explained that it showed her what she wanted to do when she was still very young.

After winning Open Mic UK, Birdy recorded her album with Gareth Henderson in River Studios which resulted in her being offered a publishing contract with Good Soldier Songs Ltd, run by Christian Tattersfield, chairman of Warner Bros. Tattersfield was previously responsible for signing artists such as David Gray. Birdy subsequently got signed to Warner because of Open Mic UK.

The question on everyone’s lips is who will follow in Birdy’s footsteps in this year’s Open Mic UK competition which starts in just weeks. Acts who make it past their first audition will go through to the live showcases at some of the UK’s most prestigious venues including Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sheffield City Hall, Birmingham’s LG Arena and Portsmouth Guildhall, following in the footsteps of famous acts such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Katy Perry. These fantastic venues all lead up to acts playing the Grand Final at the UK’s most recognised live music venue, The O2 in London.

You can check on Open Mic UK winner Birdy’s progress via her website, officialbirdy.com. If you want to enter Open Mic UK they are enrolling singers for auditions now! Go to link for more information.