2017 Finalists

Alessia is 15 years of age and attends St Anthony’s Catholic Academy in Sunderland.

She is half Italian and has been dancing for over 6 years.  The highlight of her performing career was playing the part of Matilda at the Queens Theatre in London.

She describes herself as happy and bubbly but also hard working.

Alessia can’t wait for the final, she states being in the competition means a lot as she has never done anything like this before.

Anne-Marie was a finalist in Genfactor 2016 where she enjoyed it so much she decided to do it all again this year!

She is 15 years of age and is in year 11 of St Robert of Newminster Catholic School where she can’t wait to do her GCSEs next summer.

Her friends say she is a kind and caring person which she shows by volunteering for Gateway North East, an organisation supporting young people with disabilities.

She describes herself as funny and loud and is at her happiest when on stage.

Daisy is 14 years of age and attends Thornhill School in Sunderland.

Daisy loves musical theatre and enjoys being on stage, her favourite role to date was playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

She describes herself as a happy and bubbly person. She is a big ‘Wicked’ fan and can’t wait for it to come on tour.

She won the Sunderland Schools ‘Search for a Star’ in March 2017 and says being in the Genfactor Final means a lot to her as she just loves to perform.

Denton is the oldest competitor in the competition at 16 years of age and has just started college.

He can play several instruments and is playing guitar and singing in the final. He can also beatbox and loves to write his own songs! 

He is the cousin of Tahnee who is also in the final and knew she had such a good time last year he decided to apply. He states he is looking forward to performing in front of a large group of people to help him gain experience.

India is 16 years of age and attends St Anthony’s Catholic Academy in Sunderland.

She is an accomplished singer and has performed in shows such as ‘The King and I’ at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle.

When asked if she had any interesting facts about herself, she stated that she is related to Winston Churchill!

India can’t wait for the final so she can perform in front of all her family and friends.

Katie is 14 years of age and attends Biddick Academy in Washington.

She has performed on stage before and her highlight was having a part in the Little Shop of Horrors.

Katie loves make up, clothes and going out with her friends and her worst fear is spiders.

She describes herself as upbeat, shy at first when meeting new people, but once she gets to know you, she never shuts up.

She has never sung in front of such a large audience before so can’t wait for the Genfactor final.

Jane is 16 years of age and attends St Anthony’s Academy in Sunderland, where she says she has never had a detention!

Jane was a finalist in the Genfactor 2015, she really enjoyed the experience and wanted to do it all again. Being in the competition means such a lot to her and she is excited to meet new people and perform again.

Jane has also sung at the Royal Albert Hall with her school choir. She states her strangest experience to date was when she had to perform a role where she had to play a man playing a woman!

Jessica is 12 years of age and attends Castle View Academy in Sunderland.

This is her second year in the competition.

She is at her happiest when on stage and states she can’t wait to perform again this year.

Jessica is no stranger to talent competitions, after the fantastic experience in the Genfactor last year, it gave her the confidence to enter ‘Beyond the Lights’ where she won the ‘under 12 years’ singing category. 

She has also entered ‘The Voice Kids 2017’ at ITV studios in London.

Jorja is only 11 years of age and has danced for over 8 years.

She attends Farringdon Academy in Sunderland.

Her most memorable moment was making it to the semi-final in the North East Regional Tap competition 2017. She also won the Dance Category in the ‘Beyond the Lights’ competition earlier this year. 

She is at her happiest when in her tap shoes and describes herself as a ‘happy tapper’ and is so proud of herself making it to the Genfactor Final.

Lucy is 14 years of age and attends Southmoor School in Sunderland.

She has been dancing for 11 years and entered the competition as she wanted to take on a new challenge and show off her talents.

Lucy’s most memorable experience to date was conquering her fear of heights at Air Trail at Tees Barrage.

She is at her happiest when either on stage, sleeping or eating.

Being in the competition means such a lot to her as she just loves to be on stage and dance.

Niamh is 12 years of age and attends Thornhill School in Sunderland.

Although still young, she has already performed with the English Youth Ballet and sung on a West End stage.

She auditioned for the role of Verruca Salt in London which was a fantastic experience for such a young performer.

She is an avid Harry Potter fan and is at her happiest when watching Harry Potter films.

Sophie is only 11 years old and is the youngest in the competition!

She is Lucy’s younger sister and they are both hoping that each other does really well in the competition.

Sophie has been waiting eagerly to enter the competition and this is the first year that she could apply.

Sophie is used to performing and auditioning and recently got through to the final round of auditions for Debbie in Billy Elliott, the musical.

When asked what she is most looking forward to she states Christmas, and the final of course.

Tahnee is 14 years of age and attends Farringdon Academy, where she is in year 10.

This is Tahnee’s second year in the competition. She did really well last year and placed in 3^rd position overall, which she states has been her best experience to date.

Tahnee also won a ‘highly commended award for Performing Arts’ at the Sunderland Young Achievers awards ceremony earlier this year.

She is at her happiest when surrounded by family and friends and can’t wait for the final to make them proud.