Find out who's in the Junior Star Singer Songwriter final!

Well, the moment you've all been waiting for is nearly here. After eight months, 12 shows and countless miles and cups of Starbucks coffee, the Junior Star Singer Songwriter team has picked its list of finalists, ready for the final which is being held this Saturday, 3rd December.

Young people from all over the country will be gathering together at an exclusive studio in London Surrey, to see who will become the Junior Star Singer Songwriter competition winner for 2016.

Contestants in the final are:

• Leicester: Kasey-Wray Wooderson
• Nottingham: Shivani
• Southampton: John-Paul Lizarondo
• Brooklands/Surrey: Olivia Sutton
• Colourful Radio, London: Mollie Penfold
• Liverpool: Tabitha Jade
• Halifax: Emily-Taylor Smith
• Bradford: Shania Rowe
• Milton Keynes: Rochelle Blake
• Kent: Maria Batucan
• Surrey Hills, Surrey: Tasia-Jade Bogle
• West Side Radio, London: Hannah Martin & Savannah Skillern

The unenviable task of picking the winner falls to our competition judges Anthony Goldsbrough and Adam Faires. Click here to listen to our exclusive interviews with Anthony and Adam.

The competition was the idea of Amanda Neale, who wanted to create a platform for young performers to be able to demonstrate their singing and songwriting abilities. "Adult performers are well covered by a number of different shows, but there wasn't really anything that younger people could enter without feeling pressured," says Amanda. "Junior Star Singer Songwriter aims to provide a nationwide stage where young performers can show what they can do and hopefully give them the foundation for building a promising future in music."

"We've been delighted with the level of talent we've seen in this competition. It's going to be really hard to pick a winner!"

Meet the judges

Junior Star Singer is reaching its time for the final this year on December 3rd, where contestants from each location will be selected to compete for the final prize. 

The winner will get the chance to sing and song write with a top record producer in London Anthony Goldsbrough to produce one track which will be played across 20 radio stations next year for the Junior Star Singer Songwriter Radio Tour 2017.  It's a fantastic opportunity for any young artist who wants a platform into the music industry. They will also get the chance to sing at a music awards night in Bristol on December 11th where there will be TV, radio and A &R record company executives from the industry present on the night.

Anthony Goldsbrough is a songwriter and record producer.  He is also a session singer to artists including Ed Sheeran, Hozier, Bastille, Julian Lennon, Olly Murs, Josh Groban, Bonnie Tyler and many more.  He is currently working on a songwriting project with other session musicians in the industry calling their group 'Ironlines'.  So look out for more news on them!  Their track 'Voices' will be played at the final.   Listen to Anthony's latest interview with Amanda Neale on his tips for the finalists before the grand final on December 3rd for Junior Star Singer Songwriter.

Amanda with Anthony Goldsbrough

Adam Faires is our other mentor and judge for Junior Star Singer Songwriter this year.  Adam Faires was one of the judges for Junior Star Singer last year when it appeared on DKW Sky TV show and the contestants came from Italia Conti.  Adam is a Synchronisation Manager for Global Entertainment, Global Talent Publishing Ltd. He deals with all aspects of synchronisation for Global's music catalogue including acts such as Ellie Goulding, The Vaccines, LMFAO and Lawson.  Listen to his interview with Amanda Neale host and founder of the tour and what he thinks is important for any artist to make it in the business.

Adam Faires (centre), with Amanda, Rachael and some famous friends....