An aspiring pop group from Glasgow are in the running to open the We Can Survive Concert in Los Angeles later this year, performing on the same stage as the music industry’s biggest stars.
Mia Sorella, made up of four best friends, Hannah Lily McGhie, Kerys Boggan, Lucie McCutcheon and Philippa Craig, all 14, are competing against thousands of other entries to open the concert and take home a $10,000 prize.
Every year the Opening Act competition gives budding artists the chance to be the next big name in music, performing at the sell-out We Can Survive concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
The concert, now in its seventh year, benefits the Young Survival Coalition and helps raise awareness for women battling breast cancer.
Past stars performing at the event include Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Tyga and Meghan Trainor.
Voting to decide who opens the concert is decided by members of the public rather than a judging panel, and Mia Sorella have got through the first round.
Hoping to get through to the next stages, the girls say they want nothing more than to make it as a pop group.
They said: “To have the chance of opening at the Hollywood Bowl for amazing stars like Taylor Swift and Rhianna would be incredible.
“It would give us a platform to launch our career as a group on a global scale.
“To win would give us a feeling of all the hard work paying off and that we actually have people who believe in what we do and enjoy it.
“We love to step out to perform and see people looking happy – it’s an incredible feeling and to be able to do that on a much bigger scale would be a dream come true.”
The girls say if they were to win the $10,000 prize, they would set up a campaign against cyber bullying, a cause close to their hearts.
“One of the songs we sing is True Colours, a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s single.
“The lyrics in the song talk about someone seeing the real you and being yourself.
“We feel that bullying has escalated, particularly cyber bullying, and it is hard for kids or anyone to actually be who they are because of their worries over reactions of others and comments made on social media.
“We just want to be ourselves, be liked for who we are and for everyone else to stop and think about what effect their words and actions on social media have on children and teens.
“We would call our campaign “Be Who You Are” and would like to record True Colours to launch this campaign when we figure out how.”
The next round of online voting closes in seven days, and it looks likely Mia Sorella will get through to the next stages.
“There’s a long way to go in the voting but at the moment we are looking promising to get through to the next round,” they said.
“After that we need our votes stepped up even more.
“We would love people to vote for us and to support a Glasgow girl group, less than six months old, to get to Hollywood!”
To vote for Mia Sorella and help them reach their dreams of performing at the We Can Survive concert in Los Angeles, click here.
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