Photo: Shiliu Peng

Thirteen year old Holly Watson-Abell won Hackney’s  ‘I’m In’ talent show at The Hackney Empire on Friday night as the auditorium rocked with cheers.

She said: “I’m so excited. I didn’t think I’d be the winner. I started singing since I was one years old and it’s always my favourite thing.”

Holly’s voice was also the reason she stood out amongst all the other youngsters in the audition on January 15, and was selected to go forward with four other candidates.

Choice FM DJ and entertainer, Kat B, hosted the contest. Guest acts included Wacky Rymel and X7 Academy.

Mekel Edwards, one of the producers and judges of ‘I’m In’, said: “I’m sure watching other young people from the same school or the same area perform does inspire young people.

“And Hackney has great young up and coming talent. Look at Holly today, she is only 13 and she’s got  talent like that.

“Also Kat being the host, he always let the young people know what they’ve got and what they should believe in.”

The ‘I’m In’ talent show marks the official launch of Discover Young Hackney 2011, the borough’s free youth arts and culture festival for 11 to 19 year olds, which runs until February 28.

Discover Young Hackney, now in its fifth year, is back by popular demand and is bigger and better than ever. It promotes participation and training in the arts for young people through a range of taster sessions and workshops run by creative professionals in music, dance, media, art, photography, fashion design, singing, film and theatre. It also showcases some of the best of the borough’s cultural industries.