A TEENAGER who began singing to build her confidence has made it through to the area final of a singing contest.

Alex Semtyshin’s family encouraged her to start singing to tackle her shyness and it wasn’t long before she entered herself in the TeenStar competition.

After several auditions she made it through to the regional final which was held in Manchester on March 16.

Her mum Karen, of Dunmail Close, Astley, said: “We are so proud of her. I know I’m her mum so I would say this but she was definitely the best one there. She sang beautifully.

“The judges chose the top five to go through to the next round and then the audience chose the rest but Alex was chosen by the judges.

“She now goes through to compete for the area which is the north west and Scotland and she has won some studio time as well which is brilliant.

“We had told her before just to treat it as an experience because she has only just turned 13 and not many people her age get to sing on a stage in front of lots of people but now we all think she is in with a real chance and she is already talking about the final.

“It is amazing to watch her blossom. After years of auditioning to sing a solo at Wigan Council’s Lets Sing concert, she was finally chosen this year to sing for her school St Mary’s Catholic High School.”

The area finals are being held at the Royal College of Music in Manchester on May 18 and Alex will be competing for a place in a national final to win a spot in a grand final.

“The kids absolutely love it so it is great for them and Alex’s confidence is constantly growing,” said Karen.