A Brixton singer captivated BBC One’s The Voice panel on Saturday night netting Welsh legend Sir Tom Jones as her coach.
Lara Lee earned her place on Team Tom with a bluesy version of Grease hit There are worse things I could do.
The sultry songstress cut her teeth as a spoken word poet and now wants to bring this passion to her performances on the BBC flagship show.
She said: “I want to bring poetry into my performances because that is how I first got into music.
“It gives me an edge and will help me stand out against the competition.
“Everyone has their own selling point and mine is my poetry – it’s what makes me unique as a performer.
“I want to show that I like a variety of styles of music ranging from jazz to soul and indie.”
Despite her impressive vocal dexterity Lara was made to wait until the final second of her performance before Sir Tom hit his button and selected her for his team.
After taking to the stage hoping that either Sir Tom or Will.i.am would choose her Lara was delighted when the show’s silver bear decided to turn.
“Tom is very cool, calm and collected. He is really nice and has this kind of regal air about him,” Lara explained.
“It was such a relief when he turned because he left it so late. It would have been tough to pick a judge and I am glad I didn’t have to.
“Tom has been really helpful and I am so glad that he selected me for his team – I don’t know how I would have reacted if I didn’t get through.”
Having originally discovered her love of performing live through poetry Lara turned to the Brixtongue open mic nights to hone her talent.
Her performances earned her a fan in the form of comedian turned political revolutionist Russell Brand, which she explained gave her great motivation.
Well done @LaraLeeOfficial @fugueur @mrgeepoet the Brixtongue alumni continue to prevail https://t.co/H94mmFu4zy
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) February 15, 2015
Lara’s next challenge is to progress past the battle stage of The Voice where she will face one of her fellow Team Tom contestants.
“Everyone in the team is strong so I don’t really have any preferences who I face in the battles,” revealed Lara.
“It is a surreal feeling because it’s like going into a boxing ring in a one on one fight, but I think it could be decided by the song choice.”
Thanks for the love & support woop woop excited @TheVoiceUK2015 lets do this!! #workit #thevoiceuk mmwah x
— Lara Lee (@LaraLeeOfficial) February 15, 2015
Despite her fantastic performance on Saturday night’s show Lara was far from certain about auditioning for the show.
Her friends and family persuaded her that she had something different to offer and, after talent scouts suggested she should audition, she finally took the plunge.
She said: “I’m really glad that I went for it because if I’m not sure what I would be doing if I hadn’t.
“It was a great decision and hopefully I can continue in the competition – I’m really excited about the future!”
Image and video courtesy of BBC via YouTube, with thanks
