A NEWPORT singer is on the cusp of breaking into the music industry after working with a well-known pop star.
Josh Hicks, 22, worked with Emeli Sande on his single Roses and Lavender and this, along with winning the Open Mic UK in 2021, has led to his break into the industry, signing with Emili Sande’s former manager Karen Taylor.
“It was so surreal to record with Emili Sande,” Mr Hicks told the Argus. “It made me realise how much I jumped into the deep end by working with someone of that calibre.
“It helped to add to my song writing. She helped me quite a lot with that.”
Mr Hicks is a trained Latin and Ballroom dancer but has always had an interest in music and began recording cover versions of popular songs in 2016.
He studied music at university and graduated during the covid pandemic. He entered the Open Mic UK competition last year as a way of getting feedback on his original songs and did not expect to go through or win.
“About 10,000 people entered altogether according to the figures,” he said. “I had just started song writing and went in to get some feedback on my song and they really liked it. It was nice to get some feedback from the judges.”
On the win, he said: “It was a surreal moment. It’s really nice to know that people liked what I had done.”
He performed Roses and Lavender for the competition and it was due to this that he ended up working with Ms Taylor.
“After I won the open mic, I was scouted by Music Gateway and their A&R saw I wrote a song with Emeli and now we are working together. It’s so helpful. Before I had my manager Karen, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Mr Hicks has performed shows around the county, including at the Countdown to Christmas in Newport City Centre last December where he opened for 5ive. He now has a band who are based in London and has been travelling to the city as well as Southampton to record new music which can be expected early next year.
“In November my manager put me in touch with a producer called ShatterJack who has worked on lots of songs with me and I was in Southampton with another producer working on another song.”
His music is written by himself, aside from one song which he has written with an artists called Kemi.
Mr Hicks is looking for more live shows and a booking agent to assist with this. You can keep up to date with his music and career on social media @joshhicksofficial
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