The Reach For The Stars talent show final at the Congress Theatre was the best and most enjoyable thing I have covered since Cwmbran Life started in 2011. Sixty young people entered the heats over the last few weeks held around Torfaen and Saturday night saw 15 finalists go up on stage.
Reach for the Stars helps young people get jobs
Reach for the Stars was run by young people who are involved in different projects through Cwmbran Centre for Young People to gain skills to find work or improve their careers.
They planned the night, supported the acts backstage, did the lighting, promotion and a long list of other things that were essential to make the night a success and all the acts feel special.
Judging Reach for the Stars
I joined acoustic guitarist Arianne Wells and Darran Smith, who used to play in Funeral For A Friend, on the judges’ table.
There were singers, guitarist and dancers and it was our job to give comments after each performance and then go backstage after the final act to choose a winner.
Imagine the 100s of hours that the 60 acts put into their auditions and add that to the 100s of hours put in by the young organisers. It was mind-boggling and left me feeling proud to come from a place where so many young people volunteer their time to make others happy.
Corey Elliot and Tom Purcell, known as Terms and Conditions, were the comperes for the night- introducing each act and talking to them after each performance. The former Fairwater High School pupils were excellent and the pair are keen to develop their comedy duo hosting act.
Mel Bowen, the winner of Reach for the Stars
The winner was Mel Bowen from Northville. Her writing talent shone through in a personal rap about her life. Watch it by clicking the play button in the box below.
I caught up with her after the audience had left and recorded the interview on YouTube that is posted at the top of this blog. It genuinely gave me goosebumps.
The runners-up and the Public Choice Award
The audience were asked to vote and chose Grace Hawkins as their winner. The judges’ runners-up were Yasmin Arthur and Caitlin Foster, both singers.
Support for Reach for the Stars
