The success of a Cumbrian singer means there is a top trio of county talent vying for a top spot in the latest ITV hit series of The Voice UK.

Country singer Courtney O'Neil secured one of the last two available places on Team Tom, 10 singers who will be coached by Welsh crooner Sir Tom Jones.

Courtney impressed him with her take on When You Say Nothing At All , a country song that was a hit for Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating in 1999.

The popular young country singer, who is a huge fan of Dolly Parton, is well-known in the city.

Inspired by her dad Dean and uncle Wayne, the pair have mentored former Trinity School pupil Courtney and performed together locally.

Stars will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Tom and Olly Murs are building up their teams before the battle stage of the competition begin.

They have their backs to the singers in the blind auditions and strike a button to send their chairs spinning round if they like what they hear.

If more than one of the star coaches turn around, the amateur singer chooses the team they want to join.

Viewers watched on Saturday evening as Courtney, a former member of the city-based StagedRight Youth Theatre, was almost overcome with emotion when Sir Tom turned round as her audition reached its end.


Courtney O'Neil In a clip shown immediately before she took to the stage, Courtney boasted about her home city."Carlisle is a really nice place to live," she said.

"It is the kind of place that if you run out of teabags, someone will give you some."

She was accompanied to the blind auditions by her family including parents Sarah and Dean, uncle Wayne and siblings Aaron, Dean and Georgia. Her best friend Jack and boyfriend Joe also travelled to Salford for the event.

After spinning round in his seat for Courtney, Sir Tom told her: "I love the way you sing.

"You have a very honest sounding voice and very much in tune.

"I like what you did with the song. I loved what you did with the whole thing."

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am said her song choice was "awesome" before explaining he didn't choose her before of "inconsistencies" in her voice which he believes Sir Tom can help overcome.

Alison Richardson, head of music at Trinity School, said: "Courtney was involved in music at Trinity School always performing in our annual ‘Stars in their Eyes’ style concerts.

"She was also part of the choir that sang the Foo Fighters medley on Scott Mills breakfast show in 2011 to launch the Big weekend when it was in Carlisle.

"Everyone at Trinity is so excited that she is on Team Tom and wish her all the best for her journey on The Voice. We’ve got our fingers and toes crossed and will be tuning in each week to watch."

Out of the 40 available places on the four coaches' teams on The Voice, three have already been secured by Cumbrians in the blind auditions.

Last month 17-year-old friends Eliza Gutteridge, of Long Marton, and Anna Willison-Holt, of Great Strickland, secured their spots. Eliza is also in Team Tom while Anna is with will.i.am.
Eliza Gutteridge and Anna Willison-Holt

Anna's parents are originally both from Barrow, with her mum's side of the family living on Walney Island and her dad's family based in Hawcoat.

She is currently taking her A-Levels at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Penrith, studying English Literature, English Language and Philosophy, but says she wants a career in music.

Meanwhile Eliza wants to work in music therapy and is currently a well-known performer in Cumbria.

Among Eliza's recent gigs is the iconic festival Kendal Calling, where she took to the stage last summer.

Here's Courtney's audition:

Watch Eliza perform "Wild Horses" here:

Anna's performance can be seen here: