The Judges have deliberated, and have chosen our winner...
The SSE Spotlight winner for 2017, walking away with all the amazing prizes is...
Kieran Marsh!
The Winner
Kieran Marsh
Kieran is a 16 year old singer songwriter great work ethic, always delivers on stage, he has performed small events but is made for greater and bigger things. In case you haven't guessed I'm his mum...
He lives in Newport and is one of 4 boys, we live on maesglas estate which is not a great place to live, but Kieran is focused and is an inspiration to many. The song I have sent is an original, he wasn't keen on it but my late mum wanted him to put it out there he is recording a new one which is amazing called Running Man.
The Runners-up
Jade
My name is Jayde I'm a 25 year old female vocalist from Cardiff. Over the years I have been in function bands, original bands and gigged as a soloist around Wales and London trying to get a lucky brake into the music industry.
I spent a lot of my time in a band based in London and for over three years I gained experience of performing, writing and recording original material.
I am now a soloist looking for the opportunity to perform and do what I love most and I feel this could be a great platform to achieving this. I have attached an original song that shows the style and type of artist that I wish to be. I hope you like it!!
Fire Fences
Formed in Bridgend, South Wales in 2013, Fire Fences – one of Wales’ most promising and exciting young indie outfits – have had an extraordinary few years.
Shortly after the release of their debut EP Roses From Dust the band was invited out to Los Angeles in October last year to record with producer Sejo Navajas and Jose Alcantar (Interscope Records) at 4th Street recording studio in Santa Monica, CA. While in California the band were also invited to perform a one-off sold out show at the Los Angeles’ legendary Viper Room.
Selected as one of ten specially chosen acts by The Forte Project 2016, a scheme that both recognises and assists in the development of the best in new music emerging from South Wales, the band are currently showing no signs of slowing.
The Prize
As the winner of Spotlight with SSE on Capital, you’ll receive all of the below!
- Writing and production of a track with one of our esteemed producers (Writing credits include MNEK, Duke Dumont, A*M*E)
- Industry standard mix and master
- Release and distribution of the finished single
- Location photoshoot to include industry retouched images
- Branding & graphic design to coincide with the release
- 3 months A&R consultancy
An incredible starter pack from The Famous Company
SSE
SSE is a leading UK energy supplier and has been supplying energy to the nation's homes and businesses since 1947 through its retail brands: SSE, SSE Southern Electric, SSE SWALEC, SSE Scottish Hydro, SSE Airtricity and SSE Atlantic. Along with Energy, SSE also provides customers with phone, broadband and, home services including boiler and heater cover, and servicing.
At SSE, we are proud to make a difference to our customers and the wider community, both nationally and locally. We are delighted to sponsor four world class sport and entertainment venues, 100 young athletes via our SSE Next Generation programme, some of the country's biggest sporting events and the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, Nordoff Robbins. Find out more at sse.co.uk
The Famous Company
The UK’s largest artist development company. They’re a switched-on, lively bunch of A&R managers and creatives providing talented artists with everything they need to get ahead in the music industry, affordably and accessibly. With more years’ experience than they can count on both hands and some heavyweight awards under their belts, it’s safe to say the music world is in their veins and they know a good bit about it.
They’re passionate about developing the future of the UK music industry, and understand just how tough it can be to succeed in this increasingly competitive market (especially with labels spending less and less on A&R). At Famous, they don’t believe that great artists should have to compromise their creative freedom, sign their lives away or sell body organs to maximise their potential in the music game. Which is exactly why they’ve pioneered something special. Their unique UK-wide artist development hubs are designed with one simple ethos: to take great talent further.
The Jury
Find out more about our talented and experienced judges, the ones who will be deciding which of the 3 finalists will be the winners of Spotlight with SSE on Capital
Kally Davies
Kally is Capital South Wales Sunday Party Girl!
Her highlights on Capital so far have been hosting an outside broadcast for the Autumn Internationals and having Olly Murs say he’d snog her in a game of snog marry avoid! HA!
She is also a singer song writer who signed to Universal Island Records in 2007 as a sister duo Electrovamp. As part of the duo she has supported Girls Aloud on their first Uk tour.
She has performed in all the major arenas in the Uk and her world wide performances include LA, Moscow, Rome, Paris, Barcelona and London.
The duo hit Number 1 on the MTV dance charts with " I Don't Like The Vibe in The VIP" and were also nominated for Best New Artist TRL Italy 2008.
Their music videos attracted millions of views and they had two songs featured on the film ‘How To Lose Friends and Alienate People’ featuring Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox.
Currently she is writing with producers from the UK, USA and South America.
David Owens
David is a hugely-respected journalist, author and broadcaster who has been at the forefront of the Welsh music scene for the last 25 years.
He is currently a senior journalist at Media Wales - the Cardiff-based publisher that produce the newspapers - Western Mail, Wales On Sunday, South Wales Echo and the website WalesOnline.
He has interviewed the biggest names in Welsh music including on many occasions, and in 2014 was the presenter and host of the Welsh Music Prize.
David created Reach Out - Welsh Rock For Refugees, a 30-track charity album featuring the biggest names in Welsh music including Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Charlotte Church, Super Furry Animals, Cerys Matthews, Mike Peters and many more. The album was released in September 2015 in reaction to the growing refugee crisis. It has so far raised thousands for refugee charities.
David produces monthly curated Welsh music playlists featuring the best new music from Wales for award-winning national website WalesOnline.
Colin Banks
Colin Banks is Head of Sponsorship and Reward at SSE where he is responsible for managing the energy company’s vast sponsorship portfolio. Aiming to make a real difference to their customers and the wider community, SSE focus on investing in a range of sporting sponsorships and sport and entertainment venues such as The SSE SWALEC, Cardiff; The SSE Arena, Wembley and The SSE Hydro, Glasgow.
Having worked in sport and entertainment sponsorships for over 20 years, Colin has experience working with both major brands and rights holders. Starting his career with Tennents, Colin looked after the brewery’s music and sport sponsorships including the major Scottish music festival T in the Park. He then moved to the Scottish Football Association to run their marketing department.
Colin is a passionate Scot with a love for live entertainment and sport, especially grassroots development and new customer experiences.
Megan Impey
Megan Impey is a Senior A&R Consultant at The Famous Company, the UK's largest artist development company, and music industry services provider. Megan currently works with artists in the UK and USA helping advise on their career progression and connecting them with some of the world's best music industry professionals including songwriters and producers, photographers and videographers. As a graduate of London's Kingston University and California State University in LA, Megan has a First Class Music Technology Degree which has allowed her to work in a number of London's recording studios and as a live sound engineer at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Megan has tour managed and provided artist liaison to a host of big names including The Who, Queen, Jess Glynn, Artful Dodger, Katy B and Labrynth at O2 Academy tours, Isle of Wight Festival and Mutiny Festival. In addition to this Megan has given a keynote speech at the National Association of Music in Higher Education on how the UK and US education systems educate and prepare students for a professional career in the music industry. Megan still regularly works as a session bassist, having played venues in the UK and USA as well as hosting a radio show on prime time university radio in Los Angeles showcasing the best unsigned music from across the UK.
FAQS
We recommend reading the full Terms and Conditions as found at the bottom of this FAQ list but if you need any quick answers to questions, take a look here.
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What kind of music are you looking for?
One piece of original music is required please, although please feel free to include a cover as well. Please be aware that only popular music genres relevant to Capital will be considered for entry.
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When can I register myself/my band?
Submissions open at 6am on 25th January and close at 4pm on 22nd February.
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What format can my audio be?
Any really! But we would prefer mp3, mp4 or wav. Just make sure it’s less than 10MB.
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How do I submit videos?
Send us up to two links using the Enter form – these can be to any public video service such as Youtube/Vimeo.
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When do I have to be available?
You have to be available for sound-check and rehearsals from 8am on 14th Mar, as well as the evening event itself.
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What do you mean by ‘unsigned’?
You can’t be signed to a UK record label or major music management company.
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How will I be judged?
Your entry will be scored against others on voice, music, arrangement, writing, entertainment value, creativity and overall performance.
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When can we vote?
Voting begins at 10am on 27th Feb and runs until midnight on 12th March. Votes outside these times will not be counted.
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How do we vote?
Voting will be done via Twitter and will only be accepted from ‘open’ Twitter accounts. If you’ve set your Twitter status as ‘private’, your vote will not count.
All tweets have to use the hashtag #SSESpotlight followed by the hashtag of your chosen performer. The exact hashtag for each performer will be confirmed on this website before voting opens and only votes with the correct spelling will be counted.
- Competition Terms & Conditions