A TRANENT singing starlet will be hitting the high notes next month after reaching the regional finals of a UK teen singing competition.

Kelsey Haig emerged as one of the finalists from TeenStar UK auditions held in Glasgow last month with her guitar-accompanied rendition of Adele’s Someone Like You.

TeenStar is a national singing competition searching for the UK’s best teen and pre-teen singers, singer/songwriters, rappers and vocalists of all genres – it is the UK’s only singing competition specifically for teens and pre-teens.

The 14-year-old is now preparing to return to Glasgow to perform in front of at least 500 people at Glasgow’s Concert Halls as she looks to advance one step further and sing herself into a place in the mid-teens (13-15) category at the National Grand Final.

“She’s so excited,” said mum Tracey Cochrane. “The audition was on February 22 and she got told 20 minutes later.

“She has got the songs cut down to six to choose from but has not made up her mind. Her voice is a lot better without the guitar because she is not concentrating on the chords.

“She likes Adele, also Bruno Mars and James Blunt, loads of different music. There is one song stuck in her head that she might choose and that’s In the Open Air from the movie Brave.” The Ross High School pupil’s success is even more noteworthy due to the fact she has had very little experience of either singing or playing the guitar.

“We got her a guitar for Christmas 2012,” explained Tracey. “She didn’t know a note so she is self-taught.

“She had auditions [for TeenStar UK] last year. She was shaking and so nervous.

“When she asked to do it again, I said why not wait until you are older, but she knew what to expect.

“She’s never sang in public; always singing for the family or at karaoke on holiday, but she’ll be singing in front of at least 500 people. She’s been told to just concentrate on her head voice, so that’s the high notes.” Tracey added: “She’s really quite shy and quiet. [But] once she starts singing she’s really confident.” As part of her preparation for the regional finals, Kelsey performed at a Sport Relief fundraiser being held in Jungle Gemz in Musselburgh on Saturday, while she has recently appeared on East Coast FM, where she performed two songs live.

Kelsey has also started taking lessons at Lamp House Music in Haddington and has recorded songs at The Lane recording studio in Prestonpans.

The regional finals at the Old Fruitmarket concert hall are open to the public, with a celebrity appearance. Tickets are available from Kelsey via kelseyjayden@google mail.com for £8.