Saturday 28th November saw Round 1 of The Voice of Central & East Region Singing Competition take place. Four competitors from Warwickshire & Birmingham Wing each sang in order to gain votes from the Judges; hoping to be picked for their teams and make it into the Judges Cut on Saturday 13th December.
The event started with Warrant Officer Michael Webb, Central & East Region Warrant Officer, both the organiser and compère, introducing the four Judges :-
- Warrant Officer Donna Hall, Wales & West Region Warrant Officer
- Warrant Officer Paul Roberts, Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire Wing Warrant Officer
- Warrant Officer Nathan Eyre, Hertfordshire & Buckinghamshire Wing Warrant Officer
- Squadron Leader Paul James, Central & East Region Deputy Aviation Officer
Warrant Officer Webb then got proceedings under way with the first contestant, Cadet Sergeant Joe Renwick from 492 (Solihull) Squadron. Sergeant Renwick sang “Seen It All” by Jake Bugg, no mean feat since he also accompanied himself on the guitar. After receiving votes from three of the judges he ended up choosing to be in Squadron Leader James’ team
Next up was the youngest cadet in the round, Cadet Zakk Dien from 479 (Rubery) Squadron. Cadet Dien astonished the judges with his fantastic performance of “Fly Me to the Moon” by Count Basie. Two of the judges voted for him within seconds of his performance starting and the other two were close behind! After some strong pitches from the judges, Cadet Dien selected to be in Warrant Officer Roberts’ team.
The third contestant of the round was Cadet Lucia Gervas also from 492 (Solihull) Squadron. Cadet Gervas’ song of choice was Abba’s anthem “Thank You for the Music”. For a song that is often performed up and down the country, Cadet Gervas did it proud and quickly received votes from all four judges, choosing to be in Warrant Officer Hall’s team for the next round.
The final performance was the first by a member of staff. Civilian Instructor Michelle Jeffries of 487 (Kingstanding & Perry Barr) Squadron wowed the judges with her rendition of “Never Enough” by Loren Allred from the hit musical “The Greatest Showman”. Definitely not an easy song attempt! Three of the judges voted for Michelle and she finally chose to join Warrant Officer Eyre’s team, meaning that all four judges finished the round with one act each.
Wing Commander Stuart Iles, Commanding Officer of Warwickshire & Birmingham Wing commented ” I am very proud and impressed at the talent within the Wing. It was great to see and hear cadets and staff enjoying this Regional competition”
The next round is on Sunday 29th November and will feature performances by Trent Wing.