News

Open Mic UK winner Birdy is flying high!

• 9th May 2012

Birdy’s debut album has been a massive hit across Europe achieving number one status in both Holland and Belgium and hitting the Top 20 in the UK. In March 2012, Open Mic UK winner Birdy was one of the artists who contributed to the Hunger Games’ film soundtrack with her single “Just A Game”, along with Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, and Arcade Fire.

Currently Open Mic UK winner Birdy’s debut album has gone Gold in the UK, Platinum in Europe and she's had over 45 million hits on YouTube. With her performances of ‘Shelter’ and her cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’, Open Mic UK winner Birdy was the second most viewed UK musician on YouTube.

Birdy went up against 10,000 hopeful artists in the Open Mic UK national music competition. At just 12 years of age with a dream of becoming a star and sharing her music with the world, 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’.

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.

Events Director for Open Mic UK, Chris Grayston, who first discovered Open Mic UK winner Birdy said: “When we first saw Birdy, it was obvious that she had a rare talent – for someone so young she had maturity beyond her years and I’m delighted that we were able to give her help to take the first steps towards what I’m sure will be a fantastically successful career.”

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. Open Mic UK winner Birdy subsequently got signed to Warner.

Despite being busy studying hard for her forthcoming GCSE exams, Open Mic UK winner Birdy continues to work hard on her music career and remains loyal to those that have supported her rising success, still working with Gareth Henderson at River Studios on recent tracks included on her self-titled debut album “Birdy”.

Proud Gareth, who recently won a gold disc for his work on Open Mic UK winner Birdy’s album, says: “She's a uniquely talented young lady, with the kind of work ethic that will get her to the top. She's been able to write hauntingly beautiful songs, yet she's always keen to take on board suggestions and criticisms to make everything she does even better! Her voice is really maturing too, but never losing what makes it uniquely ‘Birdy’. We are really looking forward to starting work on the next album, as soon as her school workload allows!”

No doubt there has been luck along the way for Birdy, but without her undeniable talent and dedication to her original music, she would not have stood out so brightly. Her decision to enter a competition like Open Mic UK at such a young age and her ability to present her vocal talent in a confident and original way has been instrumental in taking her to the heights she is enjoying today.

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