Singing competition Basildon – Feedback from Live and Unsigned Basildon auditions!

Auditions for the band and singing competition in Basildon, Live and Unsigned, took place on Saturday 14th January at the Pitsea Leisure Centre, Basildon, Essex! Over 400  unsigned musicians turned up to audition for the band and singing competition in Basildon, Essex in front of the judging panel of music industry specialists.

Judging the unsigned musicians for the singing competition in Basildon, Essex were Brownstock Festival representative Matt Dixon, owner of Essence Music Agency Tim Thorogood, Head of Future Music Chris Grayston, Director and Founder of Bonafide Studio Deanna Vukovic-Gardnerand Vocal Tutor Lee Webster.

Well done to all those who auditioned for the band and singing competition in Basildon, Essex especially the few who made it through to the Live Regional Final shows on Saturday 17^th March at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon, Essex!

Find below feedback for a selected few from the day who stood out for both the right and sometimes wrong reasons.

Please be aware views expressed by judges are opinions and subjective to that particular judging panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Live and Unsigned, but are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing bands and singers who auditioned. We ask you to please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping acts improve.

Singing competition Basildon – Audition Feedback!

Basement Nation - Try to interact with each other to demonstrate chemistry, especially on the breakdown. Image looked a little undecided, so work on trying to create a united band image. Good tempo drive from the breakdown. Adding backing vocals would really enhance your sound.

Ethereal Fire – You had a really good groove, which you got into immediately. Good use of backing vocals and the drummer had great tempo control. The song was missing a strong chorus, so perhaps work on that.

Two Worlds Collide – Good rapping on both accounts, with a nice contrast of vocals. You need to work on interacting with each other a little more though.

JNO-B – Spot on rapping with excellent flow and delivery. Great image. You really believed what you were saying – brilliant.

Darrel Church – You set the standard very high with a very impressive performance. You added original lyrics to a cover, and performed it with great clarity. Watch your mic control and try and focus on a main hook to make it even better.

Circle the Atlantic – Everybody was looking too much at what they were doing – try to project outwards a little more to create a performance. Musically you were good, but you need to tighten up more as it was a very loose performance. More practice will help you get synch more. Drummer and musicians were strong but the vocals were flat.

Accidental Tourists – An original and unique act with great potential. They sailed through! Great musicianship and very tight. Maybe look into adding backing vocals – be brave!

Curtis Cronin – Your vocals improved as you progressed through the song. Try not to push the vocal – aim for more control. Maybe you’d benefit from vocal lessons? Watch the guitar tuning.

Mark David – Nice, mellow and well structured song. You have a great, distinctive voice, but try to work on your diction. The song needs to be catchier to make more impact.

Tom Birch – Likeable and quirky, but a nervous performer. Liked the song. Tuning needs to be worked on, as does timing.

Georgia Godden – You had a lovely voice with a nice tone, and sang with emotion. Hoped you would build the song up but it stayed on the same level so perhaps work on dynamics. Try to show a little more confidence – keep at it!

Carboot Tetris –Good clean playing, particularly the tight drumming. You need to work on image a little more, and adding energy to your performance.  

3rd Eye – Really groovy - loved the vibe! A well-rehearsed, original band that could feature at all the festivals this summer with the crowd loving them!

Megan Barlow – Could tell you were nervous, which may have affected delivery as it could have been less hesitant. Needs to perform more and have performing as second nature. Nice song. Watch guitar tuning too.

Audition feedback continued for singing competition in Basildon!

Dominic Baldwin – Your song was very similar to a Rhianna song. Try and work on voice control and tuning a little more. Maybe you’d benefit from vocal lessons?

Jess Goyder – Strong song writer. Great voice with excellent high register. Great guitar work.

Intuition – Great energetic vibe and you were together as a band. Would have liked to have seen a bit more personality from all of you, especially the drummer.

DHW – Using backing track and live guitar together never works, as it is just way too crowded.

Josephine Ayanu – Don’t hold back try and embrace your obvious talent. Your voice has got massive potential, and it will all come when you gain confidence. For now, work on your tuning, as it was a little flat in places.

Halfway to Nothing – The performance lacked passion and presence. Work on adding more energy and drive to your performances.

In The Visual – Catchy, bordering on annoying, but when does that stop success?

Shanz – Exciting! A great backing track. You have a strong vocal, but work on control a little.  

Ebony Johnson – You had a nice song, but work on trying not to force your vocal.

Heart Sick Hades – Your image looked a little confused, so work on trying to create unity within the band. Your screamo voice was better than your normal voice, so try to work on getting your normal voice up to the same standard.

Abi Orfila – Terrific song. Nice, strong vocals.

Kamila – The intro was too long. Very good pianist. You have a very unique voice and are clearly very talented. There was a great sentiment to the song, which conveyed the story well.

Melissa – Great individual style. The voice lost it a little at parts, but it was generally a very good performance.

Delicia – It might be a good idea for you to film or perform in front of the mirror to see how you can tone down the facial expressions.

Singing competition Basildon – further feedback!

Helter Skelter – Nice, tight sound, although maybe a little 80’s sounding, so work to make sure image has a more modern spin to bring you up to date.

Mercury Skies – Your style of music is very current which is great. Your song had a great hook and could be a potential single. Great voice, and very tight musicianship.

Stephen James – Great rapping. One to watch - Pro Green watch out!

Sebastian- You were very confident, and struck us as professional before we even heard you. Great, strong vocals and song, but it was let down a bit by the guitar playing. Potentially awesome.

Bayleigh Mason – Very good expression, but watch your voice control, breathing and tuning.

The Valaitis Brothers – You both had great voices and created good harmonies. Good, united image.

Remember December – Performed with great energy, but lost the timing in places, so work on that.

Carley Short – Don’t forget to make eye contact with your audience. Nice sound to the keys, but sometimes it felt laboured. You’ll need to be more competent playing by the time of the shows, as didn’t help the nerves.

The Rivers – The front man gave quite a performance – lots of energy. Very Kings of Leon.

The Story Boys – Like the unique ties and image. Very different and original. The interchange of vocals worked well too.

Leanne Louise – Best song of the day from a soloist. A great voice.  

I Prefer Space Travel – The breakdown was very messy, so work on making it tighter. The vocals were a little bland, so work on putting energy and personality into your performance. There is potential there, so keep at it!

Singing competition Basildon

Acts that make it through to the Live Showcases will be in with the opportunity to win a multitude of prizes. The winners of both the Blackstar Exposure Award, the award for the act with the largest quantity of submitted publicity material in relation to the competition, and the Extreme Exposure Award, the award for the act who performs the most high publicity stunt, will win a free day in a local recording studio worth up to £250, or if the winning act is a band, they’ll win a brand new Blackstar amp. The Live and Unsigned studio partner for Basildon is Bonafide Studio. Runners up for the Blackstar Exposure Award will receive free music lessons worth up to £125, courtesy of Lee Webster.

In addition, acts that make it through to the Live Showcases will be within a chance to win festival slots, with festival organisers selecting acts to perform at their 2012 festival at each stage of the competition. Basildon acts will also be within a chance of being selected to perform a slot at Brownstock festival, a festival that has previously played host to big name acts including Example, Athlete, Missing Andy, The Magistrates, Pendulum, Ms Dynamite, Zinc, ShyFX and Red Light.

If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to the Basildon Regional Showcase Finals on Saturday 17^th March at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon, Essex click here to go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets.