A TALENTED young singer from Redditch has reached the final of a national competition.

Hayley Jones beat off thousands of hopefuls to win a place in the Open Mic UK National Grand Final in January.

The starlet, who is studying Level 4 music at Kidderminster College, wowed judges when she sang I am telling you by Jennifer Hudson accompanied by her friend Louie Marlow-Smith on the keyboard.

Previously she was crowned Worcestershire's most talented singer in 2013, in a competition called Pop Icons, arranged by the county council's arts team.

The 19-year-old thought she would enter Open Mic UK for the experience, knowing that about 10,000 applicants would audition.

“At this moment in time I couldn't be happier with how my careers going, especially at my age,” she said.

“I was one of the lucky ones to secure a place in the grand final.

“There were different stages to this competition which made it completely different to ones I had done in the past.

“I can remember the very first audition where there were six of us in a room and we all had to sing literally 30 seconds of a song and they would decide if they wanted to take you to the regional finals.

“Even at this point when they announced my name I was so excited.

“After the regional finals I knew I had to step up my game as the standard would be so much stronger as there were people from a much wider range of areas.

“I keep thinking back to when they announced my name to say I was through to the grand finals, the sense of excitement and achievement I was feeling was unbelievable.”

Finalists will perform live for a panel of music industry judges for their chance to win a number of prizes including £5,000 and a publicity package. 

Fans can vote for the singer by attending the final at the NEC Birmingham.