Demi Ann-Marie Holborn is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

professional singer, one of the UK's youngest female solo artists to hit the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Singing career

The youngest of four children, Holborn began her career in the music business at the age of eight and was offered two recording contracts. In 2002, her eldest brother secretly entered her in GMTV's ''Totstars'' competition. After weeks of waiting, the phone votes were counted and out of approximately 200,000 votes, Holborn received 164,365. From this, Holborn won a record contract with

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and a scholarship to the

Barbara Speake Stage School The Barbara Speake Stage School was opened on 10 February 1945 as an independent school, and was initially set up as a dancing school, by the founding principal Miss Barbara Speake, MBE, and was located in East Acton, London. The school was fee ...

, beating 6,000 competitors for the top prize. She then released a record with covers of " I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing" / "

My Boy "My Boy" is a popular song from the early 1970s. The music was composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Claude François, and the lyrics were translated from the original version "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" (Because I Love You My Child) into E ...

" with the bonus track "

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

", which reached number 27 on the

, number 5 in Wales and 61 in Germany. As a result of the charting she unseated

Lena Zavaroni Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer and a television show host. At ten years of age, with her album ''Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ...

as the youngest female solo artist to make the UK Top 40. In 2005, Holborn was believed to be an early contender for the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

, but was ultimately disqualified from the competition as she had already charted a song and was therefore no longer considered an amateur. Holborn has performed at many events in Wales such as

Party in the Park Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities and groups in the United Kingdom, typically in large parks during the summer, however it is also used to refer to a family ori ...

2002 and the Millennium Stadium meeting. Since the competition, she has performed to help raise funds for various charities in the UK. Holborn released her latest single
If I Could
on various sites on 5 August 2012.

Personal life

Holborn was a pupil at

Pontnewynydd Pontnewynydd is a predominantly working class suburb of Pontypool, Torfaen, in Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewydd in nearby Cwmbran. Location It lies in between Pontypool to the south and Snatchwood to the north. The area of ...

Primary School when she started her professional singing career, and became the youngest singer in

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

References

External links

Official homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holborn, Demi 1992 births Living people 21st-century Welsh women singers People from Torfaen