SINGER Ava Mannings says she wants to use her talent to “speak to the world” after landing a record deal as the winner of TV contest The Voice UK.
Ava, who grew up in Fishponds, Downend and Frenchay, has also won £50,000 and an all-expenses-paid holiday after being picked as the winner by the studio audience in the final of the ITV1 show, screened on October 26.
But it is the chance to realise her dream of a career as a singer which means the most to Ava, 21, who told the Downend Voice she has been singing since she could talk.
Ava had the celebrity coaches reaching for superlatives every time she sang on the Saturday night primetime show.
All four – will.i.am, LeAnn Rimes, Sir Tom Jones and the joint team of Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones – wanted her on their team in the opening blind auditions stage.
After she picked McFly’s Tom and Danny, she then had to sing her way through the show’s Callbacks episode, where the ten acts on their team were whittled down to three.
Given the task of making Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit her own in front of Tom, Danny and Little Mix star Perrie Edwards, Perrie described Ava’s soulful version of the song as “captivating”.
Tom and Danny then had to choose just one contestant at the semi-final stage, to compete against the other coaches’ top picks.
Ava sang God Only Knows by the Beach Boys – and once again was showered with praise by the coaches.
LeAnn Rimes said Ava had “moved” her, adding: “You’re really a special artist.”
In the final, contestants had to sing a solo and a duet chosen by the coaches.
Tom and Danny originally asked Ava to sing Journey’s Open Arms, then changed their minds 48 hours before the final and switched it for The Long and Winding Road, by The Beatles.
After Ava’s performance Sir Tom Jones told the audience the song had originally been written for him by Sir Paul McCartney, but he had never got round to recording it.
He told Ava: “You did a wonderful job with that song.”
She then joined with Tom and Danny for a stripped-back version of Hoobastank’s The Reason – which is being released as a single on November 5.
Ava’s version of The Long and Winding Road has also been made available for download.
After the audience vote was revealed, Ava jumped into Tom and Danny’s arms, with mum April Dickie coming on to the stage to join in the celebrations.
Last month Ava, told the Downend Voice that seeing her mum find “so much joy and happiness in music”, playing it and taking part in amateur dramatics, had inspired her as a child.
She first performed on stage for Staple Hill-based St Mary’s Players and also sang with Bristol Amateur Operatic Society Youth, in the choir at Hambrook Primary School and in productions at Winterbourne Academy.
But after leaving school she cut short plans to study music, and viewers of the show heard that she sang to the dogs to help her through the day during two years working at Top Groom, in Downend Road.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine after her win was revealed, Ava said: “I really want to just be able to speak to the world, to speak to everyone in the way that I feel like I do with singing.”
She described the experience of winning the show as “unbelievable”, adding: “Just having all the love and support I’ve had from everyone is mental.
“I never expected any of this to happen but in the back of my head I’ve always wanted something like this to happen.”
Coach Tom Fletcher said: “Me and Danny just had this confidence that Ava was so special and unique.
“I can’t tell you what it’s like being in that room when Ava sings. The whole atmosphere changes – it’s just magic.”
Pictures: ITV Plc
