Issue 289 – Abigail reaches finals of national competition

Story posted on December 9, 2009

A budding young singer from Frome beat off competition from across the country to make it through to the final stage of a national singing competition. 

12-year-old Abigail Hocking, who attends Oakfield Middle School, travelled to Portsmouth on Saturday 28th November for the grand final of the Open Mic UK competition. The nationwide search for top talent attracted over 10,000 entries and Abigail made it through to the final few.
Abigail sailed through the audition round with her version of ‘Who’s Loving You’ by the Jackson Five, before going on to win the Under 18s regional final, also held in Portsmouth on 24th October, and winning over judges with a performance of ‘One Night Only’ by Jennifer Hudson.
Sadly, Abigail didn’t win the main prize – a chance to record an album with the potential of large investment for a single release.
Abigail’s proud mother, Bev Vandyke said, “She didn’t win but certainly did us proud! She was up against good competition, especially as she is 12 years old and the majority were 15-18 year olds.
“She has always been really into her singing. The whole family is quite musical really and we’re really proud of her getting to this point in a national competition. She hasn’t been daunted by any of it.”
Pictured: Promising talent: Abigail Hocking. Picture by Andrew Benge Photography.