Hartlepool girl band sparkles in competition

Sparkle has reached the area finals of Open Mic UK and the Hartlepool girl band will be battling it out this weekend to try and progress further.

Sparkle consists of Lottie Willis, 12, and Lily Gowland, Holly Bentham and Campbell Daniels, all 13.

They auditioned in Newcastle in front of a panel to secure their place in the live shows.

Sparkle are based at Miss Toni’s Academy of Music & Performing Arts (MTA) in Hartlepool.

Founder Toni Parker-Harvey said: “The girls have been a band for three years now and in previous years have reached the national final of the competition.

“Now that girls are 13 they have moved up age groups so now will be the youngest in their category.”

But success has already come to the band this year.

Toni said: “They recently won the first Carnival’s Got Talent competition which took place at the Borough Hall on October 1.

“The girls won their age group then went head to head with the two other age group winners to become the overall winners and receive £200.

“The carnival competition was an amazing atmosphere and because all of the winners from each group were students at MTA, everyone was so excited.

“They were all so supportive of each other.”

The group’s popularity cpontinued when the video of their winning performance was shared on Facebook and got 13,000 views in less than a week.

Toni added: “The girls are also excited to announce that they will be performing at the Stockton fireworks display this year on November 5, and is estimated to bring 20,000 people to the display.

“I am endlessly proud of the girls. They have had a bit of a rest from competitions over the summer to concentrate on new material and perfecting their performances.

“The girls have grown up a lot and their new songs really reflect that.”

Sparkle will next be performing in the competition in Nottingham on October 15. If they are successful, the national finals of the competition are in January at the Birmingham NEC.”