Black Country teacher reaches final of top singing competition
Primary school teacher Alex Ohm spends his days helping children in the Black Country with their reading, writing, and maths.
But his secret singing talent has seen him soar to the final of a national contest, which could see him perform at the festivals all across the country.
The 30-year-old supply teacher from Upper Gornal has beat thousands of other contestants to make it into the coveted top 10 of an online music competition - and now he needs the public's help for the next phase.
Folk singer Alex, who used to work at Olive Hill Primary School in Halesowen before becoming a supply teacher, was picked from 2,000 others to make it to the final of online contest Pirate Prodigy.
He said: "I just entered not expecting much. You just had to upload an mp3 of yourself singing and provide a bit of information.
"When I received the email, I thought 'here we go - an email saying please try again another time' but it actually said congratulations.
"I was glad to be sitting down at the time, otherwise I would have fallen over."
Three winners will be crowned as part of the national competition, and an expert panel of industry mentors and judges will support, develop and promote their careers.
Artists will receive one-to-one mentoring and masterclasses to help them launch a career in the music world. They will also have studio time with professional producers who have worked with Florence and The Machine, Wolf Alice and Fun Lovin’ Criminals, free video production, expert branding and marketing advice, social media promotion, and festival slots.
Alex, who lives with 25-year-old partner Grace, said it would be 'incredible' to make it to the top three and take his singing career to the next level.
He added: "It's a tough industry and there's that many people doing it. So it was really nice to get that little bit of recognition."
Describing his music style as similar to indie rock band Alt-J, indie folk band Fleet Foxes or folk band Bon Ivor, Alex said he was just so proud to just be a part of the top 10 - something he never expected.
But he now needs your votes to get as far as possible in the competition and make it to the top three.
Visit piratestudios.co.uk/prodigy/#container--vote to place your vote for Alex Ohm with just one click.
