Hollie Steel

Hollie Steel (born 1 July 1998) is a performer originally from Burnley, Lancashire England.[1] In 2009 at the age of ten she was one of ten finalists on the third series of the ITV reality show Britain's Got Talent.

Hollie Steel
Born (1998-07-01) 1 July 1998
Burnley, Lancashire, England[1]
OriginHuncoat, Lancashire, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer[2] Actress
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active2009–present
LabelsBB5 Records Limited
WebsiteOfficial website

Her first audition stunned the judges with her surprisingly strong voice. In her second appearance during the semi-finals Steel suffered a panic attack onstage. After a second attempt Steel then completed the song and advanced to the Final.

She then toured arenas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, making live performances with the series' other finalists in the summer of 2009.[3]

In September 2009, Steel began recording her debut album, Hollie, which was released in May 2010. The album was distributed in Hong Kong and UK.

Steel released a second album in late 2011, and in early 2012 a third album. She released her sixth single on 3 December 2012, Fly, which was recorded in Rome, Italy with Casa Musica, the single became popular on YouTube.

Personal life

Steel has been singing since the age of four when she showed interest in her older brother Joshua's performances.[1] She also attended the KLF Dance Academy in Burnley with him.[1] Prior to Britain's Got Talent she performed in productions of Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Steel's parents, Nina and Jason, who work as National Health Service audiologists, said that she was entered in Britain's Got Talent so she would not feel left out as they felt her brother, Joshua, five years older, was more likely to progress. The judges preferred Hollie's audition and Joshua dropped out.[1][4]

Britain's Got Talent

In April 2009, Steel auditioned for the third series of Britain's Got Talent. In her first televised appearance, she began her number ballet dancing to "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the musical My Fair Lady, then, as judge Simon Cowell started to reach for the red rejection buzzer, she began singing the song with an unexpectedly powerful voice. She received a standing ovation from the audience and the approval of all four judges. Kelly Brook was in tears and called her performance, "beautiful and lovely". Commentators and mainstream media outlets speculated that she might defeat Susan Boyle, who had made an impression worldwide in the first show of the series.[5] Over thirteen million viewers watched Steel's performance and, within one day of a video of her performance being posted on YouTube, over a million viewers had seen her worldwide. She was interviewed on US television via satellite link during NBC's Today show.

During her semi-final of Britain's Got Talent in May, Steel stopped mid-performance. After she appealed for a second chance, Cowell intervened saying, "I don't care how we find it but we will find the time somewhere", and she was allowed to perform a second time. Her second attempt at "Edelweiss" went well and she was praised by the judges for being accomplished and brave in the trying circumstances.

In the final, she performed the song "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom of the Opera.[6] Her performance was well-received, and the viewer voting resulted in her finishing in sixth place, receiving 3.9% of the reported 4 million votes, calculating to 156,000 votes.

During June and July 2009, Steel appeared in Britain's Got Talent – The Live Tour 2009 with most of the other finalists from the third series. She was home tutored between rehearsals and the start of the tour.[3] The rehearsals were held at the Apollo Theatre in Hammersmith.[7] The tour opened at Birmingham, England on 12 June 2009, and finished on 5 July 2009 at Bournemouth.[8] During the live stage shows, Steel performed solo and also in combination with other artists such as 2 Grand, with whom she performed "Edelweiss" in Newcastle.[9]

Singing career

In September 2009, Steel signed with record label VVR2, which she swiftly broke out of the contract after recording her debut single "Where Are You, Christmas?" from the American film How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The single was released on 14 December 2009.[10] The single, however, did not make it into the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart.[11]

Steel's debut album, Hollie, was released on 24 May 2010.[12] The album was released on Steel's own label, BB5 Records Limited, named after the Accrington postcode,[13] and includes the Pendle's Arden Youth Choir on some of the classical pieces.[14] Steel's second single was "Edelweiss", from The Sound of Music, and was released on 29 March 2010.[15] Steel's third single was "I Could Have Danced All Night", from My Fair Lady, and "O Mio Babbino Caro", from Gianni Schicchi, and was released on 10 May 2010.[16] Steel recorded at the sound studio in the ACE Centre in Nelson, Lancashire.[17]

Steel's next single, consisting of two tracks, was released on 22 November 2010. The first song of the single is a cover of "When Christmas Comes to Town" from the 2004 animated/live action movie The Polar Express; and the music video became popular on YouTube. The second song is "O Holy Night".[18] Steel also released a limited-edition 24-minute 2010 Christmas album available only on her official website, A Christmas Wish, consisting of six tracks with a complimentary 4-minute DVD titled "When Christmas comes to town."[19]

On 4 December 2010, Steel gave performances of "O Mio Babbino Caro" and "O Holy Night" at Carnegie Hall in New York.[20]

Steel was one of 16 artists on the CD Classical Crossover Compilation 2011, singing "Pokarekare Ana" on her track.[21] She later released the song as a charity single to help those suffering from an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.[22][23]

In April 2011, Steel was cast in the role of Louisa von Trapp in Andrew Lloyd Webber's UK tour of The Sound of Music. Her first appearance in the show was on 27 May 2011 in Glasgow; her final performance was on 15 October 2011 in Wimbledon.[24]

The young singer then trained at college in London for 3 years where she graduated in 2017 with a Diploma in Musical Theatre. Shortly after this Hollie appeared in a The Extraordinary Tale of Holly Christmas.[25] at Salford "The Lowry" playing the leading role of "Holly".

In summer 2018 Steel began her adventure in the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean where she played the role of "Frenchy" in Grease until summer 2019.

Discography

Albums

Singles
Title Year Album
"Where Are You, Christmas?" 2009 Non-album single
""Edelweiss" 2010 Hollie
"I Could Have Danced All Night"
"When Christmas Comes To Town" Hooray For Christmas
"Pokarekare Ana" 2011 Classical-Crossover Compilation 2011
"Fly" 2012 Non-album single
"Patched & Sewn" 2016

Music Videos
Title Year Director(s) Ref.
"Edelweiss" 2010 Un­known [28]
"When Christmas Comes To Town" [29]
"Fly" 2013 [30]
"Patched & Sewn" 2016 [31]

References
  1. "Britain's Got Talent star Hollie supported all the way by her big brother". This is Lancashire. 3 May 2009.
  2. profile classical-crossover.co.uk Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. Nafessa Shan (1 June 2009). "Hollie Steel back in school after Britain's Got Talent exploits". Lancashire Telegraph.
  4. Ian Johnston (27 April 2009). "Hollie Steel's older brother was meant to be Britain's Got Talent star". Daily Telegraph. London.
  5. Patrick Foster (24 April 2009). "Steel, 10, stands in Susan Boyle's way to be Britain's Got Talent winner". The Times. London.
  6. David Watkinson (1 June 2009). "Hollie Steel's mum: Britain's Got Talent is not cruel". Lancashire Telegraph.
  7. "Interview: Hollie Steel". Lancashire Telegraph. 15 June 2009.
  8. "The 26 show dates of Britain's Got Talent – The Live Tour 2009". Daily Telegraph. London. 12 June 2009.
  9. Deborah Johnson (19 June 2009). "Britain's Got Talent, Newcastle Arena". Northern Echo. Darlington.
  10. "'Britain's Got Talent' star Hollie Steel to release debut single". Burnley Express. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  11. Nafeesa Shan (22 December 2009). "'Radio shun' ruins Hollie Steel's hope for hit". Chorley Citizen. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  12. "Hollie Steel Online Store". Townsend-records.co.uk. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  13. David Watkinson (3 January 2010). "Hollie Steel set to release debut album". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  14. "Burnley starlet to release first album". Burnley Express. 23 September 2009.
  15. "Hollie Steel Single Edelweiss Out Today". HollieSteelMusic.com. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  16. "Hollie Steel's New Single Available for Download Today!". HollieSteelMusic.com. May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  17. John Livesey (18 September 2009). "Hollie records first album in Nelson". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  18. Two track single released for Christmas 2010, Hollie Steel Official Site. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  19. Hollie Steel Music/ Extras, Hollie Steel Christmas Merchandise – 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2012
  20. Hollie Steel (4 December 2010). "Hollie Steel Brings the House Down at Carnegie Hall | Hollie Steel". Holliesteelmusic.com. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  21. Classical Crossover Compilation 2011 CD Archived 9 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine classical-crossover.co.uk Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  22. Hollie Steel. "Hollie Releases New Song for Charity | Hollie Steel". Holliesteelmusic.com. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  23. "Britain's Got Talent star records for Christchurch – Story – Entertainment". 3 News. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  24. "Hollie Steel Sound of Music Tour Dates – Hollie Steel". www.holliesteelmusic.com.
  25. "Hollie Steel Christmas". www.lancashirelife.co.uk.
  26. Hooray for Christmas or https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hooray-Christmas-Hollie-Steel/dp/B005WZ5JOK Hollie Steel Music Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  27. Amazon.com 10 song 34-minute album from BB5 Records Ltd. available as mp3 download. Retrieved 20 June 2012
  28. "Hollie Steel – Edelweiss (Official Music Video)" – via YouTube.
  29. "Hollie Steel – When Christmas Comes To Town (Official Music Video)" – via YouTube.
  30. "Hollie Steel – Fly (Official Music Video)" – via YouTube.
  31. "Hollie Steel – Patched & Sewn (Official Christmas Music Video)" – via YouTube.
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