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Roc Da Mic launches search for 'next big thing' - VIDEO
THE mother of pop princess Alexandra Burke visited Sheffield with her team of music industry experts on a quest to try and find the 'next big thing'.
Melissa Bell - former lead singer of nineties group Soul II Soul - held an open audition at the city's Hilton Hotel for the Roc Da Mic competition, which will see one lucky winner scoop a 10,000 prize.
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"I suppose you could say Roc Da Mic is a rip-off of X Factor, but it's all for charity so I'm sure Simon Cowell won't mind," Melissa said.
"We want to give someone out there - some talented person who really deserves it - a break into the industry, as well as raising money for three fantastic charities, so we're killing two birds with one stone."
The competition will raise funds for the British Kidney Patients Association - Melissa herself is a kidney patient - Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Haiti Disaster Appeal.
The 46-year-old said: "The talent in Sheffield has been fantastic, as we knew it would be. Yorkshire's full of talented people.
"The people we've chosen to go through to the next stage will perform at our semi-final in Liverpool in August with a celebrity judging panel. After that it's the grand final in London."
And for those hoping to catch a glimpse of Melissa's famous daughter on the judging panel, Melissa isn't ruling anything out.
She said: "Alexandra is incredibly supportive and I can tell you there will be some famous faces on the panel at the semi final and final but I'm not allowed to tell you yet who'll they be - I want to and it's on the tip of my tongue, but you'll have to wait and see."
Roc Da Mic is travelling around the country until June hunting down hidden talent and Melissa is optimistic that the competition will produce a star.
"Independent record label RDA Records are on the judging panel and they know what they're looking for," said Melissa, who has sung with artists including Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Queen and Elton John.
"We've had some great acapella auditions but now we're excited to see people at the next level - performing on a big stage with music to a live audience - we want to really give them the chance to show us their potential.
"We've seen some amazing performers right here in Sheffield and we're confident that by the end of the year we'll have raised some great money for charity and found ourselves a star."
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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