Stand Out From The Crowd
Three years ago I was invited to be one of the judges at Open Mic UK, a talent competition which attracts thousands of performers from across the UK. It was a real honour to sit alongside representatives from major labels, celebrity vocal coaches and a songwriter/producer who had sold 10’s of millions of records.
When you watch around 80 artists over the course of the day, there are few who you remember.
One young man stood out though.
He was just 16 and singing an original song whilst most in his age category performed covers.
His song was really good. It was an upbeat pop-rock kinda of track but it had a half-time chorus...the shift in gears was strong and unexpected
However...it was the use of a harmony pedal on his vocals which was the icing on the cake which made the chorus stand out. I remember the precise feeling of hearing the song and I can almost taste the cheap biscuits I was munching on at the time.
Tom Auton went to the win in his age category and also won the Future Music Songwriting Competition the next year
He joined the team at Sound Consultancy as a writer and producer to work with me and Aron last year and has written a number of stand-out tracks with emerging artists.
Take a listen to Possession that Tom wrote with Chloe Elliot here.
