Review: Auditions to duet with Jason Isaacs @Newcastle City Hall 24th March
Venue – As You Like It, Jesmond, Sunday 19th February
Auditions were held on Sunday to give a lucky somebody the chance to duet with Jason Isaacs at his exciting gig at Newcastle City Hall on the 24th March. This gig is very important to Jason because if he sells out the hall he will be rewarded with a recording contract! Therefore the audition winner will have the great experience of singing in front of a potentially packed house!
Arrival
The venue for the auditions (As you like it, Jesmond) is a very lovely venue, with lots of comfy couches and long wooden tables. These were promptly organised around the room by the lovely Sharon and Deborah for the purpose of the auditionees and their supporters. One table facing the stage for the three judges, which included Jason himself, Anna Foster (Metro Radio) and Faye Tozer (who is on tour with Steps at Newcastle Metro Arena 8th and 22nd April) (Photo top – Jason Isaacs, Anna Foster and Faye Tozer). Deadout Entertainment were also present and did a great job of recording the auditions.
What a talented bunch!
No sooner than later the talent started to arrive – 16 in total (12 girls and 4 boys). The judges were in place, the house music had been turned off and we were ready to go, you could feel the tension and nerves in the air…! Jason gave a few encouraging words to those about to take the mic, he also told them “to be themselves and to treat it as a live performance”. The first singer was introduced by Deborah (Jason’s PA) then began, and even though a little nervous to start, gave an amazing performance, from then we knew the standard in the room was going to be extremely high, and we weren’t disappointed! Surprisingly everyone had chosen a different swing song to sing, a selected few included “Aint Misbehaving”, “Feeling Good”, “One for my baby”…there was quite a selection, even a few singing acapella, and was a lovely treat for those listening on. With a few short breaks the first round of auditions was over and the judges had a break to decide who they would take through to the final round.
Final round
The four singers chosen for the final round were Sara Morgan, Val Boyers, Narelle Francis and Claire Kelly, all brilliant and talented singers. They each had to sing a duet with Jason to the song “How do you like your eggs” by Dean Martin, each adding their own bit of personality to the song. After the four duets the judge’s heads went down again, this time decide a winner, this was a very difficult decision. Up ‘stepped’ the lovely Faye Tozer to give a few kind words to all the finalists and deliver the verdict – Val Boyers was the winner!!! (Photo middle – Anna Foster, Val Boyers and Faye Tozer)
The Winners Interview
Background – Val Boyers, 36, married with 2 children, based in Teesside, (Photo right – Val singing ‘Why Don’t You Do Right’ during her audition) always loved singing and grew up in a musical family – the youngest of 10 children!!! She is self-employed as a singer and play’s acoustic guitar to accompany herself. She started singing in bars and restaurants around 7 years ago on a casual basis but left her job in HR in August 2010 so she could be at home with her girls – Bethany (age 5) and Samantha (age nearly 3). Soon after she decided to go into singing as a business so she could work it around her family. Her first gig was New Year’s Eve 2010 at Da Vinci Restaurant in Yarm High Street. She now has regular slots at The Dog & Gun in Potto, Chapters Restaurant in Stokesley, Rockliffe Hall Clubhouse, in Hurworth and has sang for lots of weddings, charity balls, parties and special events including the Middlesbrough College Awards Night 2011 hosted by Wayne Allen of TFM Radio!!! She’s even done a few sessions in the Nursery at her daughter’s school…
Val Boyers – Email Twitter Phone: 07787165536
Q. How did you hear of the audition?
I heard about the audition on Facebook just by chance and I’m really glad I saw it!!!!
Q. Have you ever heard or seen Jason Isaacs before?
I knew of Jason just through wedding fairs and as I sing for weddings myself I had heard lots of people talk about how good he was. I am following him on Twitter and Facebook but never seen him live or met him…
Q. How does it feel to be the winner?
I’m so excited and shocked that I won!!! I’ve never auditioned for anything before and I really didn’t know what to expect…I’d been quite cool about the audition (or so I thought) until I got there and saw all the other people then I got nervous!!! I was mostly worried about forgetting my words!!!!
Q. How do you think you will feel on Saturday March 24th singing with Jason to all those people at the Newcastle City Hall?
I’m absolutely over the moon to have won and so grateful for the opportunity to sing with Jason at the City Hall. I’m really looking forward to it & think it will be fantastic to sing with the big band in front of all those people!!!!
Please support Jason and Val at Newcastle City Hall on the 24th March and buy your tickets here!!!
Accompanying Jason and Val on the night will be ‘The Dave Connolly Big Band’ and ‘The Fenner Sisters‘.
Jason Isaacs – Official Website YouTube Twitter Facebook Flickr
Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Phone: 07745046805
[…] Since creating The North East HUB, I have written two articles on Jason prior to this one. The first article was on the first time I met Jason and witnessed his great talent, being blown away at an intimate gig he gave at the Hylton Hotel, read the article here. My second article was on the auditions Jason held to find another local talent to replace Faye Tozer (Steps) and duet with him on stage at his Important Newcastle City Hall gig – after tough competition the winner was Val Boyers! Read the article here. […]