Erin’ s songs go out to world

Erin Inglis, a nineyear-old from Inverurie, has been stealing hearts with her singing talent and emotional story with her voice reaching as far as Canada and India.

She was only five when her mum Jennifer died, leaving behind Erin, her little sister Ava and their dad Scott.

Singing since she was seven, what was once a hidden hobby is now being watched by 16,000 people a week with her studio-recorded songs and video.

The family also lost Ava’s twin sister Holly when she was born prematurely and their grandad last year to Covid.

While Mr Inglis threw himself into raising the girls by himself and running his carpet cleaning and flooring restoration business, Erin began to put more into her singing.

It was not until Mr Inglis heard her belting out a song in her room one day that he realised how good she was.

Encouraged by her dad and sister, Erin started a Facebook page where they would upload videos of her singing.

The page has received a lot of attention from those who live locally but has had viewers commenting on her talent from as far as Canada and India.

Erin said it helps her feel closer to her mum and sister Holly as she imagines them listening to her from heaven.

“It makes me excited and appreciative,” she said of the viewers. “All these people are encouraging me and supporting me to move on with my singing.”

Many at Erin’s school, Kellands in Inverurie, have been supportive.

Although confident in front of the camera, she said when they showed her first recording at school, she was so nervous she hid.

Erin said: “I was sitting at the back so what I did, I just sneaked out of my chair and I just hid under chairs.

“I was so nervous of people seeing me.”

She added her face was “as red as a strawberry” but everyone said she was really good.

Mr Inglis, 50, said Erin had always liked singing on her karaoke.

He was working in the house one day when he heard her in her room: “It was when she decided to sing This Girl Is On Fire and belted it out at the top of her lungs that I realised then that she had a really, really good voice.

“More than just a child singing in her bedroom but it was a ‘stop what you’re doing in your tracks’ kind of thing. It was that good.”

When their mum Jennifer died, Ava and Erin struggled to cope.

Mr Inglis said that while Erin has found her happiness in music, Ava, who is eight, loves her gaming and gadgets.

Erin sings and Ava helps film it and Mr Inglis said they “compliment each other”, working as a team.

As a dad, he said it is encouraging to see them grow in confidence and in their passions.

He added: “You know for what they’ve gone through as kids, with losing their mum and their sister, it’s been a tough time for them.

“To see Erin bouncing back with her singing and her gaining confidence all the time is a big thing.”

Erin is receiving international attention from young talent sites and being asked to perform at events. It is only going to get bigger, he said.

Mr Inglis added: “I’m happy for it to go bigger. It will give Erin more confidence in what she’s got.

“All kids love to sing and if they get good at it and they get recognition for it then they’re going to feel great, aren’t they?”

YOUNG TEAM: Erin Inglis has caught the attention of listeners in videos she has recorded with help from little sister Ava in performances she began after their mum Jennifer died.