Jamie has the ‘Centretainment’ factor?
The finals took place at The Lights Theatre, Andover, on Saturday 4 July, and the winner of the Chantry Centre ‘That’s Centretainment’ was the fantastic Jamie Walsh.
Jamie Walsh, aged 13 and from Andover, thrilled the audience with her outstanding rendition of the Etta James classic ‘At Last’. She was absolutely thrilled to be declared the winner and said “My ambition is to be a professional singer and I cannot wait to perform at Andover’s Big Festival at Vigo Road Park on Saturday, 15 August”.
In addition to being invited to perform at the Andover Carnival on Sunday, 12 July, and at the Andover Christmas Light Switch On Friday, 20 November, Jamie’s prize also included a 'Superbreak' one night theatre break for two people, staying at the 4 star Cavendish Hotel in London, with tickets to see the smash hit musical 'Wicked'.
As the standard of talent displayed by all the finalists was so high, they have all been invited to perform at the Andover Carnival’s stage on Sunday, 12 July. And with such a diverse mix of talent on offer, including an African dance act, a beat boxer, a belly dance troupe together with a variety of vocalists from singer songwriters to dynamic divas, it should prove to be another memorable event.
The Final show was the culmination of several months works with auditions being held at The Chantry Centre initially to select 30 of the most talented acts for the semi-finals, with these then being whittled down to 12 finalists. However, with the judges being split on which acts to put through, it was decided to increase this number to 13.
Steve Cotney, Centre Manager of The Chantry Centre said that all 4 judges were looking for the act that not only had the raw talent but that “extra something” on the night. Steve continued by saying, “All 13 finalists performed superbly well to a packed full house. They had all made a fantastic effort with their appearance and performance and I couldn’t have hoped for a better show. The audience was hugely appreciative of their performances and gave all acts lots of encouragement throughout the night. All 13 finalists surpassed the judges’ expectations but Jamie, at the tender age of 13, stood out with her accomplished stage presence and amazingly powerful voice. Jamie clearly deserved to be the winner of this initial Chantry Centre ‘That’s Centretainment’ competition.”
Steve concluded by saying that “The Lights put on a fantastic show for the Finals, with the great lighting, stage effects and pyrotechnics producing a really professional extravaganza to showcase Andover’s talent.
All the proceeds from the sell out event are going to support Andover’s Carnival local charities including ‘Andover Young Carers’.
The 'That's Centretainment' competition has been organised and funded by The Chantry Centre and held in association with Test Valley Borough Council, The Andover Advertiser, Andover Carnival, The Lights Andover and Andover Sound 106.4
Here's a video of Jamie's winning performance!View a gallery of photos from the finals here
::VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE AUDITIONS HERE::
Sunday 1 March | Sunday 5 April | Sunday 3 May
The Chantry Centre’s 'That's Centretainment' finalists have certainly got talent -
by the bucket load!
View a gallery of images from the semi-finals by clicking here.
