Abby is in the mix for young songwriter award
Talented teen beats hundreds of hopefuls for big final bid
JONATHAN GEDDES
A talented Cambuslang teenager is hoping for singing success after reaching the next stage of a nationwide competition.
Abby Allan, 16, is among the final 60 contestants in the UK/Ireland’s Song Academy Young Songwriter talent contest, which started out with more than 400 entrants.
The budding musician and performer impressed the judges with her selfpenned track ‘You and I,’ and is now waiting excitedly to see whether she will reach the top 10 of the competition.
Abby’s proud mum Gillian said: “We are all really pleased for her.
“It has been a strange time at the moment, with Abby’s exams all being cancelled, and her gigs all being called off too.
“This has come along at just the right time to give her a boost.”
She added: “She entered the competition a couple of years ago but didn’t get beyond the first stage.
“However, she has kept writing and working on her songs since then.
“You can enter several songs if you like, but Abby was really happy with ‘You and I’ and felt that gave her the best chance.”
Abby will find out on Sunday if she has been selected as one of the finalists.
If she makes it through, the showcase event will take place later in the year.
However, whether she is picked or not, the Cathkin High pupil is using her time during lockdown productively to work on her songs.
Gillian added: “Abby’s just writing away and hopefully she will be back out performing at some point soon.
“She’s still planning to go back to school for sixth year and then to university.
“But she loves the music too, and is trying to do as much as she can.”
Abby has been writing songs and gigging for around four years.
Last year, the Reformer told how she had performed on BBC Radio Scotland’s Afternoon Show with Grant Stott, live at the Edinburgh Festival.
She has also been working on new material at Morsecode Studios in Glasgow.
More information on Abby and her music can be found at www.facebook.com/ AbbyAllanMusic.
It has been a strange time... this has come along at the right time to give Abby a boost