Faryl Smith

Faryl Smith, an opera singer, drew unavoidable comparisons with Charlotte Church and Hayley Westenra when she became one of the youngest female vocalists to secure a U.K. Top 10 album by advancing to the final of Britain's Got Talent in 2008. Born in Kettering in 1995, she had already entered multiple singing contests before auditioning for the hit television series that catapulted her into public view. Judges were struck by her poised delivery of "Ave Maria," which earned her a place in the live shows after Simon Cowell called it "the best audition I've heard in years." She captured her heat with a version of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" and quickly turned into the bookmakers' favorite, only to finish behind street dancer George Sampson in the final. Following the Britain's Got Talent tour she joined fellow contestant Andrew Johnston to record "Walking in the Air" for his album One Voice and shared the stage at the Royal Albert Hall with her idol Katherine Jenkins. After attracting interest from several major labels over many months, she agreed to a £2.3 million multi-album contract with Universal Music Group. Her self-titled debut was tracked in London during early 2009 under producer Jon Cohen, previously associated with Operababes and Vanessa Mae. The third Britain's Got Talent finalist after Andrew Johnston and Paul Potts to reach the Top 10, Faryl climbed high in the charts and set the record for fastest-selling classical album by a female artist. She has since received a personal invitation to sing with Plácido Domingo and is slated to appear at the Classical Brit Awards.