TeenStar is a singing competition in the United Kingdom, it is run by Future Music. The competition is open for singers, vocalists and solo artists to enter either in their teenage or pre teen years. Participants compete in regional auditions to get the chance to perform at live music showcases to reach an annual national final. The first Grand Final in 2013 was held at the indigo at

The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...

in London, and more recently at The

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

in Birmingham, The Beck Theatre in Hayes, and in 2019 the competition returned to The O2.

Overview

The singing competition was originally devised by

Chris Grayston Chris Grayston (born 1971) is an English music promoter, event organizer, record producer, musician, label owner and talent scout. He is currently employed as a music consultant including working for acts and record labels. Biography Live and ...

in his capacity as CEO for Future Music. The first year saw over 9,000 applications. Entrants compete in a series of local and regional heats for a chance to perform at the National Grand Final at the

IndigO2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, resta ...

within

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Judging

Acts can perform either covers or their own original material live, and demos and recorded material are not accepted. Judges from the music industry, celebrities and record labels score all performances on the basis of vocal/musical talent, stage performance, star quality, and individuality, and the winning acts in the age categories must earn the most points from judges. There is also a point where the audience can vote in order to aid those in the judges' top scores to make it to the next round of the competition. The judging panel that crowned Luke Friend 2013's winner included; former

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

DJ and

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Global. It broadcasts on 96.9 and 107.1 FM in Greater London, and nationally on DAB, Global Player and television platforms. It specialises in hip ho ...

presenter

Ras Kwame Ras Kwame is a British musician, record producer, radio DJ and presenter of Ghanaian heritage."'We ...

; four time

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

winner and one half of the successful garage duo

Artful Dodger (UK band) Artful Dodger were a UK garage duo initially featuring songwriters and producers Mark Hill and Pete Devereux. They achieved success in the 1990s and early 2000s, releasing seven consecutive singles all of which charted in the United Kingdom ...

Mark Hill (musician) Mark Leslie Hill (born 22 December 1972, Cwmbran) is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame as one half of the Artful Dodger and co-writer and producer of Craig David's multi-platinum debut studio album, '' Born to Do ...

;

presenter E Plus; ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

Jake Quickenden Jacob Quickenden (born 3 September 1988) is an English singer, ex-footballer and reality television personality. He was a contestant on the ninth and eleventh series of '' The X Factor'' in 2012 and 2014, before being runner-up in series 14 o ...

; Capital FM producer and celebrity journalist Jon Hornbuckle; editor of TeenStar partner '' Shout'' magazine Ali Henderson; Head of Baby Girl Music Michael King and Head of Future Music

Prizes

In 2013, there was an overall prize pool of £20,000 throughout the competition including prizes at each regional stage of music lessons and recording studio time. The main prize for 2013 was a cash prize of £5,000 for the winner to spend on advancing their music, plus a promotional package reportedly worth an additional £10,000 and an extensive consultation package provided by Future Music.

Annual competitions

2013

The first TeenStar singing competition took place in 2013. After a series of localised and regional finals which took place around the UK including NEC, Sheffield City Hall and the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle, the National Grand Final took place at within

in the

. Among the performers at the National Grand Final were Saffron Silva from Surrey and Michael Rice from Hartlepool who both got signed to BGM/Future Music. Other winners included overall competition runner-up SweetCheeks from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The pre-teen age category winner was Chloe Wealleans from Northumberland, the runner-up was Harlee from Warrington, Cheshire and third place was Musty from Enfield, London. The mid-teen age category winner was SweetChix, with the runner-up being Michael Rice and third place going to Emily Middlemas from Glasgow. The late-teen age category runner-up was Bud from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Michael Rice was later to feature on

The X Factor (UK TV series) ''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, and part of the global '' X Factor'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's British entertainment company, Thames ...

and SweetChix got to the final of the ITV's series 8 of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

''. The 17-year-old singer/songwriter Luke Friend won both the late teens and the overall competition. He performed his own song at the competition called "Fame of the unfortunate girl" in front of a sellout 2,500 people, both singing and playing guitar. He won a cash prize of £5,000, which he used to purchase studio time to record his album in River Studios in Southampton where Birdy also first recorded her album before being signed to Warner. Since winning TeenStar, Luke Friend has gone on to enjoy further fame through the UK TV series ''

'' eventually coming third to overall winner

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English Pop music, pop singer who won the The X Factor (British series 10), tenth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a c ...

2014

The 2014 National Grand Final took place at The NEC in Birmingham and after coming third in the previous year Emily Middlemas took the title. Emily has been entering Future Music singing competitions since the age of 8 and has progressed to more National Grand Finals than any other act in Future Music history. Emily has appeared in National Grand Finals including

Open Mic UK Open Mic UK is a live music competition for singers, vocalists and solo artists run by Future Music Management in the United Kingdom, UK. Competitors compete at regional auditions to qualify to perform live at live music showcases and reach an ...

Live and Unsigned Live and Unsigned is a music competition in the United Kingdom for unsigned bands and vocal groups to perform live for substantial prizes. It was founded 2007, and has attracted over 40,000 entrants annually since its inception. Competitors perfo ...

and TeenStar on no less than 5 occasions. In a similar journey to Luke Friend in the previous year, Emily then starred in the UK TV series ''

'' and made it to the judges' houses. Other winners included pre-teens winner Jake McKechnie from Wigan and late teens winner Victoria Bass from Folkestone; but it was mid teens winner Emily Middlemas singing her original song "Goodnight kiss" who won the overall title. Many of the placed acts were picked up by Syco and featured on ''The X Factor''. TeenStar Champion 2015

2015

The 2015 National Grand Final again took place at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rail ...

(The NEC) in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 25 July and the overall winner was Rachel Ann Stroud from the mid-teens category with a striking version of "

Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak from his third album '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). It was released as a single to little attention in July 1989 but became a sleeper hit when Lee Chestnut, an Atlanta radio station ...

" by

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. Noted for his reverb-laden rockabilly revivalist style and wide vocal range, he is popularly known for his breakthrough hit and sig ...

. Rachel, hailing from Bournemouth, won with 115 marks. Second in the mid teens category was Tasha Jerawan from

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton ...

and Talis Eros from

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

came third. The pre teens category was won by Breeze Redwine with an original song, "Here Alone", Breeze gaining 122 points in the Final. Second place went to Tazmin Barnes from

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

and third place to Evan from Shoebury. Late teens winner Eli scored 122 marks with her original song "About You". Eli, from

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, was ahead of Georgia from London in second and We!Are from

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is about west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post town. Hanwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. St ...

in third place. Judges included four time Ivor Novello award winner Mark Hill, James Meadows (A&R from

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

), Andy Baker (Music Manager from Resound Media), Rock School's Stuart Slater, Editor in Chief of '' Shout'' magazine Laura Brown and head of Future Music Chris Grayston. For the pre teen category Dutch Van Spall from Big Help Management replaced James Meadows. TeenStar_winners_2017

2017

In the 2017 competition Grand Final, singer Annabel and dance group Scandalous Productions were crowned champions in front of a capacity crowd and a professional industry judging panel at The

Alban Arena Alban Arena (formerly known as St Albans City Hall or Civic Hall) is a theatre and music venue located in St Albans, England. History The venue was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd in the modern style, built in red brick and was officially o ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

. Annabel's original song called "Nightmares", and Scandalous Productions' original "Why So Serious" dance routine, won over the competition industry judges making them the overall TeenStar winners for each category. The pre teens category was won by Brooke Burke and Slay3rZ, in the singing and dance category, respectively. Late teens winner in the singing category was Roadstead and Katy Smith won best late-teen dance. The Grand Final was professional filmed as all Grand Finalists featured on ''Showcase TV'' on Sky TV in a special one-off show. Judges included professional dancer and choreographer Ryan Jenkins, Swoosh from Flawless Dance Group, Tom Lightfoot, Talent Producer for ''The X Factor'' and ''Britain's Got Talent'', James Ellett from Modest Management, who manage artists such as

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

and

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence after participating on the sixth series of the television talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2009, where he finished as runn ...

. Natalie Shay Open Mic UK winner and award-winning singer songwriter artist, Truchio Powell and head of Future Music Chris Grayston.

2018

The national singing and dance competition TeenStar 2018 Grand Final took place on Saturday 14 July at The

Beck Theatre The Beck Theatre is a 600-seat theatre in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was built in 1977 at a cost of £2.5 million. Type The Beck is a community theatre, offering one-night concerts, drama, comedy, dance, musicals, children's ...

, in

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

, and gave acts the chance to perform in front of a massive crowd and industry judging panel. Joining a long line of prestigious competition winners, Acacia K was crowned the champion for the singing category and DN12 were crowned the champion for the dance category. Judges included previous winners Scandalous Dance, Swoosh from Flawless Dance Group, Barney Addison, Head of Talent at SYCO Entertainment, Leon Haynes from Polydor Record and head of Future Music Chris Grayston.

2019

The 2019 TeenStar Grand Final took place on Saturday February 1 at indigo at The O2 in London. Teah won the singing category and the group Sophie's Studio, Gun Control? took the prize for dancing, both winning over the competition industry judges making them the overall TeenStar winners for each category. The overall singing winner and won: production of her album in one of the UK's finest recording studios, River Studios, working with a top producer on her songs. Teah will also receive a fully produced video of the single of her choice, an initial extensive winner's publicity package consultation and development package, a social media revamp, and access to industry contacts, plus a one to one vocal technique session with celebrity vocal coach CeCe Sammy. The overall dance winners won a cash prize of £2,500, a fully produced video of the performance of their choice, promotional photo shoot by one of the UK's best photographers and an initial extensive winner's publicity package (previous winners coverage includes

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

television, ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' and '' Q'' magazines and more). Judges included BAFTA award-winning broadcaster, vocal coach and advocate Carrie Grant, Daniel Gardner from Evolved Artists Management, singer, songwriter and producer Suzanna Dee Singer, Leon Haynes from Polydor Record and head of Future Music Chris Grayston.

2020

The entire 2020 series was online and international, with Frankie Cena as the host. The judges for the competition were BAFTA award-winning broadcaster, BBC1 presenter, vocal coach, session singer and advocate Carrie Grant, A&R for Sony, Thames TV and Future Music Chris Grayston, A&R of Polydor Records (Universal Music) Leon Haynes and vocal coach and founder of Vocal Ovation Julie Miles. From thousands of entries received, successful contestants performed in the Online Audition Shows starting 25 June 2020, followed by four Live Shows which commenced on 3 September 2020. There were a further two Semi Final shows, followed by the Grand Final on 26 November. The Results Show was streamed live on 2 December 2020, and Saffron Rococo was selected as the overall TeenStar 2020 Champion.

2021

A new 2021 season has been announced with auditions to be held soon.

Overall winners

Dance Category Winners 2019 Category Winners

Judging panels

(2008–present) * Carrie Grant (2019–present) *

Ras Kwame Ras Kwame is a British musician, record producer, radio DJ and presenter of Ghanaian heritage."'We ...

(2010–present) * Leon Haynes (2016–present) *

Cece Sammy CeCe Sammy-Lightfoot (born 30 May 1977) is a British vocal and performance coach, singer-songwriter and television presenter. She has appeared on various television shows, including ''S Club Search'' (2001), ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''American ...

(2014–present) * Alex Baker (2014–present) * James Ellet (2015–present) * Barney Addison (2015–present) * Laurence Hobbs (2015–present) * Layla Manoochehri (2014–present) * Julie Miles (2018–present) * Suzanna Dee (2018–present) *Kathryn-Ann Key (2019–present) *Sam Fraser (2019–present) * Michael King (2013) * E Plus (2013) * Simon Keegan (2013) *

(2013) * Jon Hornbuckle (2013) * Ali Henderson (2013) * Gareth Henderson (2014) * Cece Sammy (2014) * James Meadows (2014–15) * Dutch Van Spall (2015) * Laura Brown (2015) * Stuart Slater (2015) * Andy Baker (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:TeenStar Music competitions in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 2013 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom