Marie’s Soul Train on track for Pitch Perfect

Ashford vocalist in star turn at new BBC talent show for choirs

An Ashford singer revealed her vocal talents to the nation this week on a new BBC talent show for choirs.

Twenty-two-year-old Marie Kemp performed with her group Soul Train, on BBC1’s Pitch Battle on Saturday, June 24.

The new show was inspired by the the hit film Pitch Perfect, which features a school teen loner who joins an unlikely mix of talented singers to enter a choir competition.

The BBC’s TV version sees choirs performing in front of an all-star judging panel, helped by some mentoring from eke Sharon, the musical director of the Pitch Perfect movies.

Every week, six vocal groups have to perform a series of tricky vocal challenges – often out of their comfort zone – before one group is sent through to the finals.

Marie, from near Westwell, is a professional actress and teacher at Ashford’s Showbiz Academy, where students have gone to appear in shows such as EastEnders, Priscilla Queen of The Desert and Law and Order.

Soul Train beat their direct opposition, the City Academy Songbirds, and got to the final three of their episode, but narrowly missed out on a place in the grand final, which will be shown in the next few weeks.

Marie said: “The experience was absolutely amazing. A personal highlight was working with Deke Sharon. He has such an enthusiastic personality. His pep talks were so inspiring.

“Another thing was how supportive everyone was,” she added. “We got really close to the other groups, which I didn’t expect. No-one was against each other. It was lovely.

“Also, our social media activity has been insane since the show. Our vocal coach is now trying to get performances and other events arranged.”

Marie Kemp, above, turned in an impressive performance with her group Soul Train, right