X Factor champion gives vocal lessons to Wigan Youth Zone members

Sam BaileySam Bailey
Sam Bailey | other
X-Factor winner Sam Bailey is giving free voice coaching sessions to two young Wigan singers alongside volunteers at Europe’s largest youth club and an arts foundation that supports young talent.

Little Dreams Foundation, was set up in the year 2000 by husband and wife stars Phil and Orianne Collins as an international initiative to support young talent in music, arts and sports.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Wigan Youth Zone, which has partnered with singing sensation Sam, helps up to 200 young people a night and have been supported by a number of well-known singers since working alongside the foundation.

Sam, a huge Phil Collins fan, is donating her time during the lockdown to conduct online training sessions to teach talented young singers Emily Pearce, 17, and Georgia Linde, 15, performance techniques including body and face movements as part of the programme.

Emily PearceEmily Pearce
Emily Pearce | other

“I am loving working with Emily and Georgia from Wigan Youth Zone, they are two very talented young ladies with great potential and it’s great to be able to share some wisdom with them,”said Sam, who won the TV talent show in 2013.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: “Phil has been an inspiration for my whole family my entire life, so to be able to pay it forward in such a great way is fantastic!”

Since being part of the foundation, the teens have had extraordinary opportunities such as flying out to Miami and performing with Phil Collins himself and other Little Dreamers. They have been supported by the foundation through Wigan Youth Zone for two years now and have developed massively both personally and musically.

Georgia said: “I have had an amazing experience within the past two years being with the Little Dreamers. I never thought I would be able to experience such great opportunities, the favourite being singing with Phil Collins in Miami. I am thoroughly enjoying working on my new material and it has been amazing to work with Sam who is really helping me with my performance.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Georgia LindeGeorgia Linde
Georgia Linde | other

Nikki Varley, Deputy Head of Youth Work at Wigan Youth Zone said: “The girls were funnily enough more awestruck by the fact that Sam Bailey wanted to help mentor them as they remember her from winning the X-Factor, they are huge fans and can’t wait to give her a tour around their turf, when they are back at the youth centre.”

“Our tagline at the centre is ‘Somewhere to go, Something to do, Someone to talk to’ and this messaging is more important than ever before with the current crisis at hand.”

“It feels amazing to get training off a celebrity who so many people know, we are fans of Sam, and she has years of experience in the industry that she can share with us. It’s been very empowering for me. The zoom sessions are something to look forward to and I’ve already learned a lot,” said Emily.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The team have worked hard to ensure youth workers can work from home, conducting activity sessions and chats via live streams and organising Zoom sessions so the young people in the Wigan area can stay safe.

Based in Wigan town centre, with 5,500 members in total and over 15,000 visits this year, the youth workers host 20 activities a night and have access to a gym, climbing wall, skate park and an arts and performance centre with their very own music studio and youth record label.

The foundation’s funding covers vocal coaching, recording studio time, music equipment and professional music video creation for the young singers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nikki added: “We nurture young talent. One of our young people has even spread his wings and gone to the well-renowned Guildford School of Acting (GSA). There are only 30 places on the course and West End stars tend to originate from this establishment. His whole career path came from the extracurricular activities we were able to work with him on.”

“We want people to realise how important those enrichment activities can be for young people, and we are so excited to have stars like Sam helping us teach these young people important skills that will assist their personal journeys, be it in confidence, communication skills and singing techniques.”

The youth centre premises are currently closed following government guidelines. However, they are continuing to support their attendees via digital means. They are adapting as best they can but can’t wait to be back in the centre having fun.

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.

Related topics: