Wanted: Five unique girls for a hot new girl group.
Can you sing and dance? Do you have distinctive style? Are you outgoing, ambitious and dedicated? Then the nation's much loved Singer & TV Presenter - Sherri Holt - wants you!
Send a link to a 2 minute clip of yourself to auditions@sherriholtmusic.com. Successful girls will be contacted to attend personal auditions with Sherri & her team.
Good luck!
--- JADINE ---
Jadine Reynolds banged her fists so hard on Sean’s front door some of the paintwork flaked off. Not that it mattered – like most of the doors on this part of the estate, it was a battered mess anyway. .
“Alesha! Alesha!” she yelled. “I know you’re in there.”
An old couple shuffling towards the lifts at the end of the walkway glared at Jadine and the pair of screaming babies in the double buggy beside her. They probably thought she was a half-crazed teen-mum desperate to get her next fix – but Jadine didn’t care. This was the most important morning of her life and she was determined to rouse her selfish sister - whatever it took.
“ALESHA!” she yelled again. “I know what your scuzzy mates are up to in there!”
That did it. Finally Jadine heard Sean’s voice from inside the flat. “Alright, alright. Keep it down.”
She knew Sean wouldn’t want a scene. His place already attracted all the wrong kinds of the attention from the police.
Relieved, Jadine grabbed the handles of the buggy and as soon as Sean opened up, she burst in and rammed it straight into his dingy hallway, which was no mean feat considering the size and weight of the contraption.
“What have you brought them here for?” grunted Sean, blearily nodding towards Bobby and Theo, still crying their little hearts out.
“I thought you might like to see your kids,” said Jadine, filled with loathing. How could Alesha be involved with this scumbag? And how had the pair of them produced two adorable babies like Bobby and Theo? Okay, maybe they weren’t adorable right now, but that wasn’t Jadine’s problem, it was Alesha’s - she was their mum and she needed to step up and take responsibility for them.
Abandoning the wailing tots in the hall, Jadine barged past a shell-shocked Sean and headed straight to the lounge. She wasn’t surprised to find the usual suspects hanging out there, smoking and playing Xbox, while Alesha and another girl were flaked out on the sofa.
Jadine headed straight over to her wayward sister. “Alesha! You’ve got to look after Bobby and Theo.”
Alesha groaned and dragged her hand across her face.
“Go away!” she moaned.
Jadine bent down and shook her. “Alesha! I can’t look after them. I’ve got an audition.”
“Get mum to do it then,” muttered Alesha.
Jadine was beyond furious. Once again, her selfish sister refused to think about anyone but herself.
“Mum’s at work – remember?” yelled Jadine.
“I’m sick,” groaned Alesha before turning away and stuffing her face into the folds of them sofa. The girl lolling out next to her laughed before heaving herself off the sofa and staggering into the hall.
Jadine felt the anger rise from the pit of her stomach.
“Yeah, and I’m sick too,” she spat. “Sick of looking after your kids. You and Sean can do it.”
With that Jadine stormed away. She knew she shouldn’t leave Bobby and Theo here. Her mum would go nuts if she found out, but there was no way Jadine was going to miss her big break. As she headed into the hall she took a deep breath and told herself that it wouldn’t be for long. So what if Sean didn’t have the first clue about babies? It would do him good to be thrown in at the deep-end. He should be spending more time with them anyway. And so should Alesha, instead of relying on Jadine and their mum all the time. But Jadine stopped short when she saw the mashed-up girl from the sofa leering over Bobby and Theo’s buggy.
“Aww, look at you two cuties,” she gushed.
Theo reached out a pudgy arm and pushed the girl’s smudgy face away. Jadine shivered as the girl leaned in close again and grabbed his chubby cheek.
“He likes me!” she cackled.
“Can babies eat these?” asked Sean, appearing from the kitchen with a bag of toffee popcorn and two Mars Bars.
That did it. Jadine shoved the girl out of the way, hauled the buggy past Sean – deliberately running over his foot - and was out of there.
“Oww! Where you taking ‘em?” he yelled down the walkway as Jadine marched towards the lifts.
There was nothing else for it - she was taking them to the audition.
--- AMY ---
Amy Anderson considered her perfectly made-up reflection, searching for any minor flaw. “I am a talented singer. I am a talented singer. I am a talented singer,” she chanted under her breath.
She sucked in her cheeks and applied a touch more blusher. “I deserve success. I deserve success. I deserve success,” she repeated.
With her sleek auburn red hair, green eyes, and perfectly toned body, Amy knew she had the looks to stand out in a crowd of regular girls, but today’s auditions for Sherri Holt’s hot new girl group were hardly going to be filled with regular girls. All of them would be working that something special to make them stand out from the pack. Amy felt her confidence slip and pulled another affirmation scribbled on a brightly coloured post-it out of her makeup bag.
“This is my time to shine. This is my time to shine. This is my time to…”
Two more girls bustled into the Ladies toilets and jostled past Amy to get to the mirrors. She hastily jammed the post-it back in her makeup bag. Amy didn’t usually believe in self-help mumbo-jumbo – she’d always believed confidence, hard work and determination would bring her super-stardom, but in a few weeks she’d be 21, which in popstar years was ancient. So now she was using all the help she could lay her perfectly manicured hands on.
Satisfied she was ‘popstar ready’, Amy sashayed into the reception area of the Infinity Dance Studios in Covent Garden, already half-full with other wannabe popstars.
“Hi hon,” smiled the receptionist, instantly recognising Amy. Well, she should - Amy had come here for countless auditions and rehearsals over the years. “You’re early.”
“Best to be prepared,” smiled Amy, taking the requisite paperwork.
As Amy settled into a seat she saw a middle aged woman, bustle in as though she owned the place, a pretty young blonde trailing in her wake. Amy instantly pegged the woman as a typical ‘pushy but clueless showbiz mum’.
“Rhian Jones, here to see Miss Holt,” trilled the woman in a high-pitched Welsh accent.
“Your audition’s at 9.30,” said the receptionist, handing over the obligatory paperwork. “Fill this in.”
“It’s not for me,” crowed the woman. “It’s for my daughter. Isn’t she gorgeous?”
The receptionist barely looked up from her desk. Amy chuckled as the poor blonde girl stood next to her mother wanted the ground to swallow her up.
“Can’t we be seen earlier?” trumpeted the woman, oblivious to the looks from everyone around her. “I’m sure Miss Holt will want to see Rhian right away.”
“No,” said the receptionist. “There’s a strict running order.”
“But Rhian was the lead in her school musical, you know. She played Sandy.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t recognise you sweetheart,” fawned the receptionist. Then she eyeballed the mother. “It’s still 9.30.”
The woman grabbed the paperwork and ushered her daughter to the seats opposite. Bet this was their first time out of the Valleys, chuckled Amy to herself. Even so, she couldn’t help noticing that Rhian Jones was pretty, and young. Really young. Amy sucked in her tummy and carried on filling in her form. She needed to focus if she was going to get in this group. Really focus. This was her last shot – she had to make it count!
--- KAT ---
Katya Kaminski’s train hadn’t moved for over an hour.
“This is ridiculous,” she heard the woman opposite complain to the young man stood there with a refreshment trolley. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You’ll have to wait for further announcements. Now, would you like a free bottle of water?”
The woman huffed and looked away, so the man turned to Kat. “Free bottle of water?”
“Could I have a juice instead?” she asked.
“You’ll have to pay for that. I’m only authorised to hand out free water.”
Kat sighed. “Water’s fine then, thanks.”
She took the bottle, put her headphones back in and carried on looking at her phone. She’d accessed her YouTube page ‘Katya K’ and was checking out her music clips, including the one she’d uploaded for the audition.
Kat wondered if Sherri Holt had actually watched all the clips herself or had she got some assistant to do it. Either way, she’d been gobsmacked to get an email saying she’d been shortlisted and should attend an audition in London. She’d left bags of time to get there, but now she was seriously worried she wasn’t going to make it.
As her clip ended, Kat saw the young man push his trolley down the carriage towards a group of teenage girls caked in make-up. In fact Kat thought one of them looked distinctly orange.
“Free water?” he asked them.
“Can we have Diet Cokes instead?” squealed the girl with the most spidery lashes Kat had ever seen.
“You’ll have to pay for them,” he said with an apologetic smile.
“Really?” cooed spider-lashes. “Can’t we have them for free?”
“I mean, it’s not our fault the train’s stuck,” added her orange friend, with a sickenly sweet yet suggestive smile.
The man melted. “Go on then.” The girls giggled as he handed out some Diet Cokes and some free crisps. “Just don’t tell anyone.”
Kat groaned. Why didn’t she have that effect on boys? Not that she was wanted them to be attracted to her. She certainly wasn’t attracted to them. And she couldn’t imagine she ever would be - although she hadn’t ever admitted that to anyone, not even to her sister, Dani.
Even so, as she looked back at the still from her audition clip on her phone, her mousy brown hair, slightly protruding nose and heavy set eyebrows made her want to cry. Unique and quirky is how her Auntie Vi described her. Which Kat took to mean weird-looking and she knew weird-looking wasn’t ideal for a girl group. Kat just hoped her voice and determination would be enough to get her through the audition. That’s if she could get to the audition at all.
Just then, Kat’s phone buzzed with a text message from Dani. No prizes for guessing what it would say…
Where the hell ru??? Papa going crazy!!!
Kat typed back…
On train 2 London. Back 2nite. Will explain later. Kat xx
Kat knew when Dani told their papa where she was going, he’d flip out for sure. She hoped he didn’t take it out on Dani or the boys, but being a singer was all Kat wanted to do. Just like her mama had been back in Poland.
Suddenly an announcement came over the tannoy. “Apologies ladies and gentlemen, due to an incident up ahead, this train will remain here until further notice. We’ll update you when we know more.”
Kat sighed – at this rate, she was definitely going to be late.
Buzz.
Her phone again. Another message from Dani.
Ur in soooo much trouble!
“Gówno!” cursed Kat.
--- RHIAN ---
“Jadine Reynolds?” called out Sherri’s young assistant, Lena, in a cool Californian accent. No reply. “Jadine Reynolds?”
“She hasn’t checked in,” said the receptionist.
“Let me see what Sherri wants to do,” said Lena, before disappearing back into the audition room.
Rhian Jones looked around anxiously. As her audition slot drew closer, she felt the knot of nerves tighten in her stomach. She knew once she started singing, she’d be fine, but those minutes leading up to a performance were just the worst. Plus she had to put up with her mother continually offering up some last minute piece of advice. Rhian wanted to scream some advice back at her.
SHUT UP!
Rhian was distracted by two more girls bounding over to the receptionist.
“I’m Georgia Butterick,” said the louder one. “And this is my sister, Molly.”
The girls looked so similar, Rhian wasn’t surprised to learn they were sisters – although she thought the quieter one was the prettiest.
“Fill these out,” said the receptionist. “You’ve got a double slot.”
“We’re so early,” complained Georgia to her sister, as they headed to the waiting area. “We definitely had time for more shopping.”
“Better to be early, than late,” said Molly quietly.
As Rhian watched them settle into their seats, Lena returned with her clipboard and stopwatch. “Any sign of Jadine Reynolds?”
The receptionist shook her head.
“Then Sherri says to bump her. If she can’t make it on time then…” Lena left the sentence hanging in the air as a warning to the other girls about what was expected of them. Rhian saw Molly, give her sister a ‘told you so’ nudge.
“Rhian Jones!” called out Lena.
Rhian almost jumped out of her seat and flushed with embarrassment as the sexy girl with the auburn hair sat opposite her stifled a laugh. Rhian smoothed down the creases of the lacy white prom dress her mother had insisted she wear. She felt ridiculous in it, especially as most of the other girls were dressed in cool street gear and every type of lycra under the sun.
As her mother pushed her towards the ominous double doors of the audition room, Rhian wished she could go to the toilets to puke. That’s what she’d done every night before stepping on out stage as Sandy in Grease, but her mother was still babbling on with even more advice.
“Remember Rhian,” said Diane, grabbing the door handle, “sing from your diaphragm and give a big smile when we walk in.”
“Only the singers are allowed in the audition room,” said Lena.
“But I’m her mother!” huffed Diane. “Can’t Miss Holt make an exception? I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. ”
Fat chance of that, thought Rhian, as her stomach lurched and she fought to keep down her rising bile.
“You won’t even know I’m there,” trilled Diane.
“But I’ll know,” barked Rhian. There was no way she wanted her mother in there. She could just imagine it – within 10 seconds she’d be telling Sherri Holt how Rhian had got a standing ovation every night for her Hopelessly Devoted To You - but only because her mother had stood up and insisted the rest of the row do the same.
“Can I just get this over with?” Rhian said to Lena.
“Sure thing,” said Lena, opening the door. Rhian followed her inside, leaving her shell-shocked mother in the corridor.
Rhian recognised Sherri Holt straight away and she looked every bit as glamorous as did on TV. Sherri had been part of an RnB girl group 20 years ago before moving on to a successful solo career - now she was branching out into music management.
“Jadine Reynolds was a no-show, so this is Rhian Jones,” said Lena.
As the panel shuffled through their papers to get her details, Rhian quickly scanned them all. The younger guy on Sherri’s right was pretty hot; the older guy reminded her of her dad.
“Hi Rhian,” said Sherri. “It says here, you’re 16.”
Rhian nodded and smiled weakly.
Sherri gestured to the hot guy on her right. “This is Derren McKenzie. He’s an amazing choreographer and he’ll be the creative director for the band.”
“Hi,” said Derren, flashing Rhian a smile that gave her butterflies - which given how her stomach was feeling, was not a good thing. But he was just so damn sexy. He was even hotter than her ‘sort of’ boyfriend, Kyle Jackson.
“And this is my songwriter, Tony Ward,” said Sherri, gesturing to the old guy on her left.
“So you’re Welsh, eh?” smiled Tony.
Rhian was scared if she spoke she’d puke everywhere. So instead there was a huge pause.
Awkward.
Sherri and the guys shared ‘a look’.
“So Rhian,” said Sherri gently. “Tell us about yourself.”
“Can’t I just sing?” blurted out Rhian.
She knew she was making a terrible first impression, but she just wanted to get on with the singing. She’d be much less nervous after that.
“We’ll get to that,” said Sherri.
“I’d rather do it now,” said Rhian, walking over to Lena and handing over the CD with her backing track. Everyone was probably thinking she was totally nuts and had the social skills of a mountain goat, but right now, she didn’t care. If she could just get through the singing…
Rhian returned to the middle of the room, smoothed down the folds of her dress and took a deep breath. The opening bars of Sherri Holt’s first solo hit, The Meaning of Love filled the cavernous audition room. Again, the panel shared ‘a look’ – they either thought she was very brave or very foolish. Not only was she singing a song which had been a hit for someone in the room, it had been written by someone in the room - Tony Ward.
Rhian closed her eyes and sang the dreamy ballad. Halfway through the chorus, she dared to open her eyes, and saw all three of panel staring at her, mesmorised. It looked like her mother had been right after all. Rhian had wanted to choose a sexy RnB number,but her mother was having none of it. She’d insisted Rhian sing a sweet and soulful ballad. She’d said that was her strength. Rhian had relented, although she had no intention of singing soppy ballads for the rest of her life. A few raunchier numbers were much more up her street.
As she sang, Rhian felt her nerves lessen and her confidence grow. By the end of the song she was soaring and could see that Sherri even had tears in her eyes. When she finished, everyone, including Lena, applauded.
“Wow!” enthused Sherri. “I don’t think I ever sang it as beautifully as that.”
“That was great, Rhian,” agreed Tony.
“Yeah, something else,” added Derren.
“Thank God for that,” blurted out Rhian in her broad Welsh accent. “I thought I’d totally cocked up!”
Tony and Derren let out a loud laugh and Sherri gave a surprised snort.
“But being in a group isn’t just about singing,” said Sherri recovering. “It’s personality too.”
“Oh, I know that,” said Rhian. “And I have got a good personality. It’s just I was so nervous about singing, I wanted to get it out of the way. Then I could talk to you properly, without you thinking I’m a total fruitcake.”
“Let me get this straight – you didn’t want us to think you’re a total fruitcake?” asked Tony.
Everyone laughed.
“Have I messed up?” asked Rhian. “I have, haven’t I? I’ve messed up.”
Sherri was about to speak, but Rhian couldn’t stop herself.
“And I’m probably talking too much aren’t I? Am I talking too much? I sometimes do that when I’m nervous. It’s just that I’ve got four brothers. Two older ones and two younger ones. So normally I can’t get a word in edgeways in our house. And then there’s my mam...”
“I can vouch for the mother,” chipped in Lena, from the back of the room.
Rhian finally paused to take a breath.
“Rhian, sweetheart,” smiled Sherri. “You’re totally nuts.”
“Doesn’t every group have a crazy one?” asked Rhian, wide-eyed.
“Yes, but when you walked in, I didn’t think it was going to be you. You look like a little angel.”
“Does that mean I’m in?” said Rhian.
“Can you dance?” asked Sherri.
“Course,” said Rhian, as she started to shimmy and shake - this time making Derren McKenzie and Tony Ward go wide-eyed.
“That’s fine, sweetheart,” said Sherri, raising her hand. “It was an experience meeting you. We’ll give you a call.”
“Oh right,” said Rhian. This was her first professional audition and she had no idea if that was a good thing or bad thing to hear. It sounded bad. So when she reached the door, she turned and said, “If you hire me, I promise not to talk too much. Well, unless you want me to and then I’ll talk the hind legs off a donkey!”
The panel laughed again.
Sherri smiled. “Go!”
--- MOLLY ---
As Molly Butterick filled in their paperwork, her doubts returned. Her twin sister, Georgia, had guilt-tripped her into auditioning and against her better judgment, Molly had agreed. Even though she loved performing, Molly didn’t want to put herself through the rejection and pain that went with it. She knew that to ‘make it’ you had to be exceptional, and although Molly knew she was good, she didn’t think she was good enough.
Georgia on the other hand, was determined to be a popstar. She’d done countless auditions, sent out tons of demo’s and links to her performances on YouTube, and she’d even made it through the early stages of a couple of TV talent shows - but nothing had come of it. She was starting to feel pretty low and that’s why Molly had agreed to come along today. Georgia reckoned having Molly by her side would give her the confidence she needed to do a knock-out audition. But as Molly looked over at her sister, who was happily showing off her new acrylic nails to another girl, she thought Georgia radiated perfect popstar confidence. She didn’t need Molly as much as she thought she did.
Over her shoulder, Molly became aware of a commotion near the reception desk. She turned to see an attractive mixed-race girl with a double-buggy arguing with Sherri Holt’s assistant, Lena. One of the babies in the buggy was crying his heart out, but by some miracle the other baby was fast asleep.
“It’s not my fault I’m late,” ranted the girl, who Molly assumed was the missing Jadine Reynolds. “My sister was ill.”
“It’s too late. You’ve missed your slot. Plus you can’t bring your kids to an audition,” said Lena, flinching at the squawking child.
“They’re not my kids. They’re my sister’s and she’s ill.”
“There’s nothing I can do,” replied Lena, turning away.
“Hey,” shouted Jadine. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
Before she realised what she was doing, Molly leapt out of her seat.
“Wait,” she cried, marching over to the reception desk, leaving her stunned twin sister in her wake. She called after Lena. “She can have my spot.”
“What?” said Jadine, clearly thinking Molly was some sort of lunatic.
“It’s a double slot,” said Molly, turning to Jadine. “My sister can have the first half and you can have mine.” And with that, Molly picked up the screaming tot from the buggy and gently bounced him up and down.
“Even so,’ said Lena, as she walked back. “Miss Holt has a strict policy about latecomers.”
“Even ones who have family problems?” pointed out Molly reasonably. “She can’t help if her sister’s ill, can she?”
“If these are her sister’s,” said Lena, raising an eyebrow. “Teen mums aren’t exactly ideal girl group members!”
“I’ve told you,” hissed Jadine. “They’re my nephews!”
“Are they twins?” asked Molly, as the screaming tot in her arms finally started to calm down.
“Yeah,” replied Jadine. “But they’re not identical.”
“Just like us,” smiled Molly, as Georgia appeared by her side.
“Hang on, Moll,” fumed Georgia. “You can’t give away your slot.”
Molly took a deep breath. “Look Georgie, you’re the one who wants this, not me.”
“But you promised,” said Georgia.
“You’ll be great on your own. You don’t need me.”
But Georgia was having none of it. “Please, Moll,” she said, looking the most forlorn Molly had seen in a long time - which given the amount of time she’d spent moping around, complaining how hard it was to catch a break, was saying something. “I do need you. I really need you.”
Molly could feel her twin-heart-strings being pulled. As the baby in her arms tugged gently at her hair and put it in his mouth, she looked from her sister to Jadine. She knew this was the moment to break free from Georgia…but she couldn’t do it.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Jadine.
“Don’t worry. It’s family, isn’t it,” shrugged Jadine wryly. She took the baby and put him back in the buggy. “I know all about that!”
Georgia flung her arms around Molly, almost squeezing the life out of her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Fine,” said Lena, suddenly developing a heart. “I’ll squeeze you back in.”
Jadine looked gob-smacked. “Really?”
“But,” continued Lena, “you can’t take your kids into the audition.”
“I keep telling you, they’re not my kids,” said Jadine.
Lena raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.
“I can’t leave them on their own,” continued Jadine.
“We’ll look after them,” said Molly. “Won’t we Georgie?”
Georgia frowned. “As long as you promise not to change your mind again.”
Molly took the jibe on the chin and turned back to Jadine. “Why don’t you go and freshen up?”
Jadine looked as though she couldn’t believe her luck. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because she’s a sucker for a sob story,” chipped in Georgia.
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” corrected Molly.
She could tell Jadine was still unsure.
“I’m Molly,” she smiled. “If you’re leaving your kids with me, I should at least give you my name.”
“They’re not my…” Jadine stopped herself and finally smiled too. “And I’m Jadine. Thanks for helping me.”
“No problem,” said Molly, as Jadine headed to the Ladies. Now all she had to do was help Georgia get into Sherri’s group, then she was done.
-------
Author's note: I hope you'll continue reading to find out what happens to the girls. Please feel free to leave any constructive comments and if you're enjoying the story, don't forget to vote. Hopefully it will encourage others to check out the story! Thanks, ever so NN :-)