This week Jamie Cullum took to the stage at PizzaExpress Jazz Club, the place where he was discovered as a musician, to launch The Big Audition - his project to find a brand new music star.
The competition will take part across the entire country this September - with Pizza Express restaurants all over the nation calling out to the public to become the new big name in music. And the prize... the winner's voice attached to thousands of pizza boxes, the same method used with musical birthday cards, along with £5,000 towards their musical dreams. They will also get the chance to perform at the PizzaExpress JazzClub.
Speaking at the launch, Jamie said, "All it takes is one big break. I got mine playing at the legendary PizzaExpress Jazz Club in London, and now we’ve teamed up to bring you The Big Audition and unearth a future star. There are so many brilliant performers out there with genuine talent that never get the chance to be heard so I’m really proud and excited to be part of this search. Whatever style you’re into, get involved, I want to hear from you.”
If you want to take part in the Big Audition, here's how to do it...
Entrants are invited to upload their audition (a video or audio clip) online at www.pizzaexpress.com/thebigaudition. The competition will be open for entry from 27th July until 2nd September 2011. Any genre of music is welcome, from singers, instrumentalists, soloists and groups, of any age.
The Top 50 acts will perform at live regional heats hosted at PizzaExpress restaurants across the country from 19th – 30th September 2011. These performances will be uploaded to the campaign website where the public can vote for their favourite. Votes will be collated from each event and online to select a Top 10.
The public will be invited to vote for their favourite of the Top 10 between 17th October and 4th November. To help make their decision, they can listen to the Top 10 acts in PizzaExpress restaurants and see how they get on at a masterclass challenge with Jamie Cullum.
Following the public vote, the top five acts will perform at a live final in November, where a judging panel will select the winner.
UPDATE: Last week, the winner of Jamie's Big Audition was announced. Sir Michael Parkinson joined Jamie and other panel members to crown the Offbeat South winners. The band are a Croydon and South London based collective and were very excited to be publically applauded.
