10-year-old busker from Sheffield sets sights on stardom

Connie Emery from Woodhouse has been singing for just under a year, but it's not until recently when she was spotted singing on the Moor that she shot into stardom.

The 10-year-old is a student at Brunswick Community Primary School and has received nearly 50,000 views on videos across social media.

From this she has now been offered auditions for two TV programmes, one of which is the Voice Kids.

She said: "All the auditions were done, and they saw me on Facebook and they took my video into a scout from the Voice Kids called Della Smith and she got me a place in for a audition."

But Connie has not always been into singing, as her granddad Roger Lycett said: "She was a keen runner for five years - She changed from the next Jessica Ennis to the next Whitney Houston!"

Connie is a massive Whitney Houston fan, as she says her favourite song is 'I Will Always Love You'.

But there is one special song by the world famous singer in which Connie can wow her audience, she said: "It's called 'The Greatest Love of All' When people hear me sing that song people don't expect me to hit the high note, but I do and they love it. It makes me feel good."

However, she still has one goal to meet here in Sheffield, singing in front of her beloved football team - Sheffield Wednesday at their last match of the season.

She said: "A lot of people have asked me to do it and I'd love to be able to. I go a lot with my cousin and uncle, they take me and I have a season ticket.

"I have the opportunity to go to the matches sometimes when I can which I love, I've got all the kit as well including the t-shirt so I wear that."

"If I did sing there we thought of singing Hallelujah, but when it gets to the chorus we can sing Sheffield Wednesday instead and everyone can join in including the players."

Connie discovered her voice after being overheard by her mum when she was singing in her bedroom, and it went from there.

She said: "My mum came upstairs and said your quite good, then she took more of an interest in it and then we found out I had this voice. She then shared it on Facebook."

Even after all the publicity, she admits she still gets nervous: "I get butterflies, but once I get into it, you get into the rhythm of the song. Once I do my first song I calm down."

Roger added: "On her first time down the Moor she said 'I'm not doing it!' but if she hadn't she wouldn't be where she is now. When she sung one song, she was away."

And it seems she's a natural at singing in front of a crowd, as Roger said: "We were down the Moor and she was singing 'Run to You' by Whitney Houston. Hundreds of Sheffield tree protesters came past. She never stopped, she just carried on and when she finished the song they all started roaring and cheering."

But Connie says busking on the Moor is not for the money: "It's given me a lot of confidence and it makes me feel good. The money just goes towards my equipment."

She will also be lending her voice to a charity night on May 4, in aid of Sheffield mum Eilish Jennings in order to raise money for her cancer treatment abroad, which will be held at Niagara Conference and Leisure Centre, just off Penistone Road.

As for busking, she will still be on the Moor once a week in order to get some practice in for her auditions, and has even recorded a CD at Toolmakers Recording Studio on Rutland Road.