College gets behind The Voice finalist Emmanuel

31st March 2015

Former Barking & Dagenham College student Emmanuel Nwamadi, 24, from Forest Gate, who completed a BTEC Diploma in Music at the College in 2012, has got through to the live finals on BBC?s The Voice UK.

Emmanuel, who is part of Team Ricky, (that’s Ricky Wilson, lead singer for Kaiser Chiefs!) made it to the finals after battling it out in a series of heats, before winning through the semi-finals last week. He will now face competition from the three other remaining finalists during this Saturday’s live final, which will be shown on BBC One from 7pm.

Now, music lecturer at the College’s School for the Performing Arts & Technical Theatre, based at The Broadway in Barking, Del Harrison, is rallying students, staff and the public to vote for Emmanuel.

Del recalls how Emmanuel’s talent started to take shape:

“When Emmanuel joined the music course it was clear that he was a gifted student with a powerful voice, but he was very shy about singing in front of people. The music tutors and I worked with him to help build his confidence. At the same time he was entering and winning talent competitions and was also singing in bands.

“Towards the end of his course he was thinking about university, but was unsure and had thought he had left it too late. Many courses had started but I sent Emmanuel’s show reel around and University of Westminster offered him a place.

“Emmanuel has a unique talent. He has great musicality and can interpret a song in his own way which just doesn’t sound like anyone else. He has a deep voice but can also hit the high notes, and most of all he is a good person who has remained true to himself. I wish him every bit of luck for the finals and I think he has a very strong chance.”

The winner however is voted for by the public and the College is keen to get as many people as possible to support Emmanuel.

You can vote for Emmanuel online by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nnfdd or by phone during the live finals.