THE Worcestershire-based singer and songwriter Tazmin Barnes, at the tender age of 15, recently enjoyed success as a national finalist in the acclaimed UK Songwriting Contest.

Her success means the Ripple teenager beat thousands of other hopefuls to make the finals, and the judges made a point of praising her entry in the contest, calling her songs “impressive”.

In fact, all four tracks from her recently issued EP impressed the judges: with two of them, One Good Cure and Powerful, making the dizzy heights of the final in the Under 18s category, and the two others, Extinction and Tearing at my Tears, reaching the semi-final.

Tazmin’s proud father, Darrell said: “One Good Cure was also a BBC Introducing Hereford & Worcester Track of the Week in October 2017, whilst Tazmin’s EP itself reached No. 11 in the iTunes Pop Album Charts when it was launched on February 9th ahead of established stars such as Taylor Swift, Sam Smith and Beyonce.”

A spokesman for the competition said : “The UK Songwriting Contest judges include top multi-platinum Grammy, Emmy and BRIT Award winning songwriters and producers who have worked closely with such artists as Christina Aguilera, Sting, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Oasis, Britney Spears and many others.

“There were more than 6,000 entries in the 2017 contest and we are pleased that Tazmin Barnes has achieved such an impressive result in having two of her composition’s in the national final of this year’s event.

“We wish her every success in the future.”

Tazmin said: “It’s been an incredible time. It’s a dream come true to both achieve such a high chart position and to be recognised as a songwriter by the same people that run the BRIT Awards.

“I am so grateful for all the people that continue to support me on my music journey”

Aside from a busy summer preparing for her GCSE exams, Tazmin, who hails from Ripple will be performing at a number of festivals and events throughout the region in the months ahead.