Hartlepool and East Durham young singing stars show off their work

Katie Colborn, from Hartlepool, along with Erin Hancock and Jack Linstead, both from Peterlee, are among the young stars to feature on Sunderland-based ISG’s Platform North East programme - an initiative to equip young vocalists with hands on experience in the music industry.

The Covid-19 pandemic inspired 19 year-old Katie – stage name Katie C - to pen her upbeat single Everyday Heroes.

Acoustic pop artist Erin – whose stage name is Ezza – is 17 and uses life events to inspire her song Playlist,

19-year-old rapper Jack – stage name Lillin – has produced Sorrow Mind by channeling his emotions to create powerful lyrics.

County Durham pop singer songwriter Emily Bosher, 21, is another artist to be featured and says she hopes her song, The One, will allow listeners to build their own stories around her lyrics.

The pieces of music were created working with ISG’s in-house team – and eight songs are now available on streaming platforms.

As well as working on their tracks during the week-long course, they took part in a variety of workshops - covering topics like song writing, vocal coaching, stage presence and how to market themselves on social media.

The songs are available to purchase or stream across most popular music platforms and at www.platformnortheast.co.uk, which also features interviews with the artistes and more information about the programme.