Wolverhampton's AV4C band hope to put The Voice UK judges in a spin
An all-girl gospel group will be flying the flag for Wolverhampton in the new series of ITV talent contest The Voice UK.
Sisters Shay, Crystal and Nush Ramsey and cousins Tash Samuels and Tish Jackson all aged in their 30s are members of AV4C (Anointed Voices 4 Christ) band. They will be pulling out the stops to put the judges in a spin this Saturday night.
The five-member band who have been performing together for over a decade were head-hunted for the show after the producers spotted their video on social media.
Shay, aged 34, and a support worker, says: "We are gospel singers and we also perform love songs for wedding bookings, but we're in the main involved in the Christian music genre.
"Three of us are sisters and Tash and Tish are cousins and we've been singing together at church events outdoor events and festivals honing our style for about 12 years.
"Three of us are also stay at home moms because our husbands are really great like that."
"We were approached by The Voice because they are doing groups this year. They saw us on Tik Tok. We'd literally just opened our Tik Tok page when the show got in touch with us. We'd only put one video on there.
"It's quite an amazing thing to happen because we're on other social media platforms too and had been for some time.
"My sisters and me have got full blown Sickle Cell anaemia and we sometimes use our music opportunities raise awareness of the condition which affects red blood cells."
In 2018 the ladies were part of B Positive Choir that made it to the live finals of Britain's Got Talent after being set up by the NHS to raise awareness and increase blood donors from the black community. As a result of that project B Positive's Conrad Gayle is now AV4C's manager.
The ladies, who all live in Wolverhampton, attend the city centre's Word of Spirit and Life Baptist Church in George Street.
"We've found taking part in the show very exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. It's a good experience overall.
"It will be our first time seeing the performances this weekend and we'll be holding a watch party with all the family.
"All the judges are really nice and the contestants and the standard is very high because everyone is super-talented and it's going to be a tough competition this series, especially with groups being added.
"We're beyond thrilled for this incredible opportunity," Shay adds.
The Voice UK will be on ITV at 8pm and ITVX this Saturday.
