A Radlett performer, songwriter and vocal coach will be appearing on prime time TV as a singing judge.
Simone Kaye was headhunted to be a judge in the next series of BBC One’s All Together Now, where contestants are tasked with winning over a panel of 100 experts for a £50,000 prize.
If the judges in the show - who range from singers and songwriters to drag queens and burlesque dancers - like a contestant’s performance, they stand up and start singing along.
It was filmed last September in Manchester’s Media City over the course of about a month, Simone said.
She added: “I was so excited, it was a new opportunity for me to do something I have never done before and prime time TV is the best promotion.”
In a career over 20 years, Simone has performed alongside George Michael, Take That, Emeli Sandé and Joss Stone, and at high profile events such as the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant.
She has also appeared on the BBC Music Awards and the BAFTAs.
Simone added: “I didn’t have any expectations but I have done quite a lot of TV so I am quite used to that, but this whole thing was mental as an experience.
“It was nothing like I have ever done or seen before.
“The other judges were so varied, across the board. There were lots of people I wouldn’t normally meet, we are all singers but we are so different in what we do.
“It was a great team, we were so lucky with everyone there and a lot of people did the year before so they were really helpful.”
Simone was contacted last summer over Facebook by a producer of the programme, asking her to come and audition.
She bagged her place on the show by singing You Might Need Somebody by Shola Ama, which was first recorded by Randy Crawford.
Although originally from Essex, Simone has lived in Radlett for 15 years.
The winner of All Together Now 2018 was Hartlepool-based singer Michael Rice with a performance of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. He won over 94 of the 100 judges in the final.
Simone will soon be launching a one woman show called Divas Through the Decades.
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