WhY Factor 2009 winners
Now in its ninth year and organised by Mayzmusik Performing Arts Academy and sponsored by InCompany, the WhY Factor attracts talent from all over south-east Wales.
The winner of the Band Award was "House of Cards", a young band aged 11-16 from Abergavenny, Crickhowell and Abersychan with their interpretation of "Starlight" by Muse and will appear live on BRO Radio in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Winner of the 15 and under trophy was, for the fourth year running, Harriet Whitehead, formerly of Abertillery, now living in Deri in Mid Glamorgan, who wowed the audience with "The Wizard and I" from the musical "Wicked". Harriet wins a recording session at Up The Lane Studios in Redbrook, Monmouth, owned by Ron Rogers formerly of T'Pau.
In the 16+ category again the standard was very high, but only one could win and this year it was Aidan Bradley aged 16 from Abersychan with his version of "Under Pressure" by Queen, accompanying himself on piano and engaging the audience with them clapping along from the start. Aidan won the Mayzmusik Talent Award Trophy and a recording session at InCompany Multimedia Studios courtesy of sponsor Adam Courquin. Aidan's competitiors were Ryan Fowler and Donna Marie Watkins from Newport, Zara Mansfield and Duane Edwards from Abergavenny, and Saiorse Berney from Chepstow.
In addition to the prizes, Adam Courquin also kindly donated 10% discount vouchers to each of the acts participating, and Steve Powell was so impressed with the acts that no only did he invite the winners to play live on the Steve Allen Show on BRO Radio, he also offered the same privilege to several other acts, including Toby Evans, Jonny Pugh, Wesley Maddocks, Nina Jones and Saiorse Berney.
What Mayzmusik Talent Showcase is all about
Mayzmusik are proud to present The WhY Factor Talent Showcase at Newport’s prestigious Riverfront Studio Theatre, orginally known as our New faces talent show, which has been running for the past 8 years.
Sponsored by InCompany Multimedia Productions, bands and solo artistes are invited to perform before a panel of judges.
There are three categories, each with its own unique trophy, commissioned by Mayzmusik, which will be held for one year.The categories are:
- solo 15 years and under
- solo 16 years and above
- and bands.
Both band and solo 16 years + have no upper age limit.
The panel are professionals in the music industry and include a radio presenters and a concert promoter.
After the three categories have been awarded, an overall winner of the evening will be announced and awarded with the WhY factor trophy.
In addition the winner of the 16 years + solo will receive 3 hours recording time courtesy of InCompany.
“This is a golden opportunity for any artiste or band, you get interviewed and show off your talent to a mass audience. It also looks very good on your CV” said Pip Williams of Mayzmusik.
Rules and How to Enter
This year's WhY Factor will took place on Saturday 16th May 2009 at the Riverfront Studio Theatre, Newport. Please watch this space for entry forms for next year!
For a copy of the rules and an application form please print out one of the following forms fill it in and send it back to us:
BAND FORMS (Link disabled as competition is closed for 2009)
SOLO FORMS (Link disabled as competition is closed for 2009)
Alternatively you can follow this link to our contact us page.
Seating in the Riverfront Studio Theatre is very limited and may be restricted so please book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
Winners of 2008
The Riverfront Studio Theatre in Newport was the venue for the 8th WhY Factor Talent Show organised by Abergavenny-based Mayzmusik Performing Arts Academy.
Judges were Paul Roberts from Sunshine Radio, Matt Lane from BRfm (Brynmawr Radio) and AM Discos, and Charles Fountain, Marketing Director of Raglan Music Festival, whose job in choosing winners was made extremely difficult by the high standard in each of the three categories.
The first category to take to the stage were the bands with an average age of just 13 years. After much deliberation, and with only a couple of marks difference, Open Ocean from Caerleon, Usk and Newport with an original composition "Best Laid Plans" were declared the winners with Initial Reaction from Abergavenny runners-up. Open Ocean will now get a chance to be interviewed and have their music played on Sunshine Radio, interviewed on BRfm & will be performing live in Hal's Cocktail Bar in Abergavenny on Wednesday 21st May and again later in June.
Next to perform were the under 15's with a very diverse range of songs, from 10 year old Nina Jones singing Leona Lewis's "A Moment Like This" to Patrick Edwards singing the Sid Vicious version of "My Way" and a guitar instrumental solo "Cliffs of Dover" from Toby Evans. With such a difficult decision to make, the judges eventually chose Harriet Whitehead aged 14 from Blaina who sang Barbara Streisand's "Don't Rain On My Parade". This will be the third time Harriet has won the under 15 competition. Harriet's prize will be a recording session at Jubilee Studios in Blaenavon courtesy of Ken Tomlinson.
Finally taking to the stage were the 16's and over with songs ranging from Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" to Tom Jones's "Kiss". Again a difficult decision to be made by the judges, but the winner was 17 year old Hannah Berney from Pwllmeyric, Chepstow who sang "Get Here" by Oleta Adams. Hannah's prize will be a recording session at In Company Studios courtesy of Adam Courquin.
All winners receive a trophy which they will keep for one year, when it is hoped that they will return and defend their title.
May Williams from Mayzmusik Performing Arts Academy commented "I never cease to be amazed at the amount of talent we have in this area. I would like to thank all of those who took part and even if they were not winners this time, I hope they all enjoyed the experience of performing in front of a live audience and that they will all continue to demonstrate their talents for many years to come."
Well done to all entrants and a big congratulations for the winners!
