Bloxwich schoolgirl singer in online success
A schoolgirl singer who found success on the internet has shot up the Amazon album chart - just behind Adele.
And Beth Ford, from Bloxwich, has also reached number one in the online giant's Movers and Shakers chart. Her debut EP, The Voyage, released on Wednesday(13th), includes her first self-penned song as the title track.
The 15-year-old Walsall Academy pupil said she was 'immensely proud.' One music blogger described it as 'grandly imagined and gloriously sung.'
Last year she sent the internet into meltdown when an amateur video of her singing Pie Jesu in an empty church went viral in America, attracting more than 45,000 hits.
The publicity led to an invitation to sing a duet with Michael Boe, elder brother of the people's tenor Alfie, on his album Along The Way.
When the recording was released online last October, demand was so high that the website crashed for several hours.
The pair sang Ralph McTell's Streets of London together.
In July she released her debut single If I Could Escape, which reached number 3 in an iTunes new releases chart.
Her father, Walsall solicitor Nigel Ford, described her latest success as 'surreal.' He added: "At one stage she was on the same level in the charts as Lionel Ritchie and Abba but she is very grounded and self-deprecating about it all.
"People are always asking why she doesn't goon Britain's Got Talent or The Voice but she's happy taking her music at a steady pace."
Beth herself tweeted: 'Just in case I ever thought of being big headed, I'm number 7,060 in the Amazon US chart.'
Beth, who is part of Walsall Council's Gifted and Talented scheme, sings with Walsall Youth Choir at the Forest Arts Centre. The EP is available from the amazon.co.uk website.
