Talented Year 10 pupil Rio is currently appearing on a national TV singing competition after being headhunted by CBBC.
She was spotted by CBBC talent scouts from some of her singing videos, published on YouTube.
They got in touch to ask her to audition for the new series of talent show ‘Got What It Takes’, which pits ambitious teenagers against each other while showcasing their singing talents.
Rio was delighted to be offered such an exciting opportunity, but had to negotiate an audition process before being shortlisted for the show.
She said, “CBBC contacted me after seeing some of my YouTube videos. I was asked to send in some audition videos and there were over 800 kids at the start of the process.
“Eventually it went down from 800 to 30 to 20, then to the final eight and I was on the show.
“The filming was done over the summer holiday last year. I stayed in London for three weeks in a girls’ school and filmed everyday, from singing to family challenges.
“It was great fun - I enjoyed it so much. I’d love to go back and do it again.”
Each week the contestants have to compete with each other to win a place in the sing-off by completing a variety of challenges.
There are only three places in the sing-off, and the accompanying parents of the contestants choose the winner.
So far, Rio has been in every sing-off and won one of them. The final decision will be down to a public vote.
Rio is obviously hoping to win, but is also grateful to be part of the experience.
She said, “If you win, you get to perform at the BBC Biggest Weekend festival later this year with a celebrity, which is a fantastic prize.
“Even if I don’t get to that part, the experience has been the best bit for me. Getting to meet and speak to people who are in the industry and who can give me advice to help me pursue my dream and make a career out of performing is just amazing.”
Despite her experience on the show and in school productions – she was Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray: The Musical last year - Rio still feels nervous about singing in front of people at times.
She said, “Give me a big crowd of people to sing in front of and that’s easy. But ask me to sing in front of you now, and I’d struggle.
“It was hard to sing in front of the other contestants. In fact, I never used to sing in front of people at all unless I was asked to. It made me too nervous and anxious that they were judging me.”
Alongside her studies, she performs at The Ship Inn every Sunday, which gives her invaluable performance experience.
She commented, “Singing is definitely what I want to do in the future, whether that is performing on stage or teaching music in a school. As long as I’m involved in singing or music, I’ll be happy.”
Rio appears in ‘Got What It Takes’ on CBBC every Wednesday at 5.30pm