The 13 contestants in this year's Fame Academy have been confirmed after the final heat of auditions live on BBC One on Wednesday 6th. The last six performances included 19 year old Alex Parks from Mount Hawke in Cornwall, who gave a really personal rendition of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. Alex was the last person to sing on the live programme, which only made it more nerve-wracking as she had to listen to the confidence crushing remarks from the judges and had to contend with tonsillitis. Despite being ill, headmaster, Richard Park dragged his flue ridden carcass out of his sick bed and into the studio to dish up more soul destroying comments. Every other performance had been very heavily criticised by him and a few times he had to be stopped by presenter Patrick Keilty! But Alex's nerves were not necessary as she received the most compliments from the judges. Academy vocal coach David Grant said "Alex has more mystery than anyone I've seen performing in these qualifying heats, because I want to know, as an artist-what does she think? I think she's fantastic!"  What a great version of Christina Aguilera's hit. I think that was tremendous. | | | Headmaster, Richard Park |
And even more astounding was the praise offered by Richard Park: Alex is already in the Fame Academy and can been seen weekly on BBC One. Keep checking these pages as we'll have regular updates on her progress. | 
