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Tigana, Roving reporter

GV Voice: it's all about talent and GUTS!

On Saturday 22 September, Shepparton hosted the annual prestigious talent competition, GV VOICE. Held at Eastbank, approximately 700 guests were seated by 7 o’clock and all ready to be blown away.

Twelve finalists were to compete against each other to win the title of GV Voice winner and to win the hearts of three judges Tricia Sargant, Nigel Parsons and Natalie Ferguson.

Just before they got up the stage, Shepparton’s iconic Eppo Sloots interviewed each of the finalists in the ‘green room’, which funnily revealed more about the personalities, secrets, and odd talents of our GV Voice finalists.

Here are the full profiles of the finalists and also performance reviews from your own vicious, talent-hungry, sadistic youthcentral regional reporter Tigana Sari.

The Finalists

Name: Jamie Mazzocchi
Age: 18
Town: Shepparton
Song: Just the thing - Paul Mac
Fact o’the night: Jamie was the organiser of the acoustic nights which were the opportunities for local talents to perform in Lemon Tree Café in Shepparton.
Tigana’s review: Good. Jamie's energetic song opened the show very well.

Name: Jake Dix
Age: 15
Town: Shepparton
Song: Mmm bop - Hanson
Fact o’the night: Jake admitted that he was the biggest influence on himself, and no one else!
Tigana’s review: The little, cute Jake Dix proved that he is actually BIG!

Name: Chelsea Harrington
Age: 15
Town: Dookie
Song: Naïve - Lili Allen
Fact o’the night: Chelsea admitted that she likes singing because it’s a great way of expressing emotion.
Tigana’s review: I liked it. She was really good. I’m not a big fan of Lili Allen, but the judges said that Chelsea sang better than her.

Name: Sarah McDougall
Age: 18
Town: Kyabram
Song: Together We are One - Delta Goodrem
Fact o’the night: Sarah is proud of being nicknamed 'Doodle'.
Tigana’s review: Sarah did a very big performance. Very well done.

Name: Emma Garner
Age: 17
Town: Shepparton
Song: Hey Jude - The Beatles
Fact o’the night: Emma is very good at doing Simpsons impressions.
Tigana’s review: In the beginning, it was quite boring, and similar to The Beatles version, but towards the end Emma improvised and this resulted in a MAGNIFICENT performance.

Name: Joe Kosky
Age: 16
Town: Nagambie
Song: You Are Loved, Don’t Give Up - Josh Groban
Fact o’the night: Josh is actually also a professional tongue dancer.
Tigana’s review: Great, as always. I’m sure he gave his 120% that night.

Name: Jayne Lilford
Age: 24
Town: Kyabram
Song: Blue Karma (original)
Fact o’the night: Jayne is a big fan of anything to do with skulls.
Tigana’s review: This is definitely my favourite. Great acoustic performances with a nice, cosy, original song. She was awesome, LOVED IT.

Name: Belinda Sofra
Age: 16
Town: Shepparton
Song: Candy Man - Christina Aguilera
Fact o’the night: Belinda is very good at doing Stitch impressions.
Tigana’s review: I could imagine that being at GV Voice for the third time certainly gave Belinda many advantages. She looked very relaxed and gave her best performance.

Name: Sheridan Wright
Age: 12
Town: Shepparton
Song: Stand up for Love - Destiny’s Child
Fact o’the night: She’s still in primary school! And also once sang with Janette Powell (Mayor of Shepparton).
Tigana’s review: Sheridan was very, very good. Her voice was pure and I was very touched. Even if she was 20 I would still be like, "Wow..."

Name: James Alcaniz
Age: 20
Town: Mansfield
Song: Like a Stone - Audio Slaves
Fact o’the night: James is very good at doing 'stone face'.
Tigana’s review: He has a very unique voice, but… what can I say, when I heard him… I felt like I heard Chris Cornell, which I wish I hadn't.

Name: Kelly Thomas
Age: 18
Town: Echuca
Song: The Time is Now - Maloko
Fact o’the night: Kelly choked on snake lollies on the night.
Tigana’s review: I loved her performances. She seemed to be enjoying herself up there. The music was good too.

Name: Emma Horton
Age: 22
Town: Shepparton
Song: Heroes Live Forever - Vanessa Amorosi
Fact o’the night: Emma develops a rash when she is nervous. Also on the night she admitted that she had tonsillitis.
Tigana’s review: Another big, big, big performance. Emma closed the competition very nicely.

And the Winner is….

The judges conferred and decided among themselves to award the prize to Belinda Sofra! The 16-year-old Shepparton girl is the 2007 GV Voice winner! Belinda has scored herself the prestigious GV Voice title and $1000 prize money. On the grand final night she sang 'Candy Man' by Christina Aguilera and blew the audience away with magnificent stage performance, fully equipped with sailor hats and a beautiful bright red dress.

All judges agreed that her performance was outstanding, and also complimented her progress - this year’s GV Voice is her third year - she had become better and better every year.

Second place was won by my all-time favourite Jayne Lilford with her original track ‘Blue Karma’. In third place was 12-year-old Sheridan Wright who was predicted to be a big superstar in the future.

GV Voice proved itself to be a spectacular annual event that provided the best entertainment in Goulburn Valley. The GV Voice Orchestra band, led by Sam Brown, also deserved the applause of the night as it delivered a beautiful accompaniment for the finalists.

Many thanks to Word and Mouth, who presented GV Voice 2007, along with numerous sponsors and crew members. Well done to everyone involved. It was a great night.

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