Band containing Bromsgrove singer in Open Mic final

Buy photos » Kyle, Ellie and Jake are hoping for a good R3ACTION at the O2 on Saturday. s

A MIDLANDS band has fought off more than 26,000 other groups to make it through to the final of a prestigious national competition.

R3ACTION, which features Bromsgrove singer Jake Maddocks, 23, Ellie Petrou, 24, from Birmingham and Kyle James, 22, will now go up against 19 other bands at the Open Mic UK event at the O2 Arena in London tomorrow (Saturday).

If they are successful, they will scoop a £50,000 cash prize and be given management support and the chance to be developed through a record label.

The trio have only been together for almost a year - Jake and Kyle were bandmates on another project and Ellie, a childhood friend of Jake’s, joined the pair to complete the line-up.

The band members have already supported a variety of big acts, including Jessie J, The Saturdays, Alexandra Burke and Miss Dynamite.

And, as well as performing their own gigs, they have also played sets at radio roadshows, Bonfire night extravaganzas, Christmas lights switch-ons, charity fund-raisers, pride events and summer festivals.

They have more than 1,000 Likes on Facebook and already have more than 10,500 followers on Twitter.

The trio play a mixture of covers and their own material and are currently writing their first album, which it is hoped will be released early next year.

Because the members, between them, like a lot of different musical genres, their style has a variety of influences on it.

Jake told The Standard: “I like urban music, Kyle likes Indie and Ellie is more of a pop and R’n’B girl.”

He added the support the band had been given so far from the public was fantastic and he said he hoped it would continue into tomorrow’s final, which is determined by a text vote.

Anyone wanting to vote for R3ACTION should text OPEN84 to 86222. Texts cost £1 plus a standard text message amount.

Jake said the band was really looking forward to performing at the O2 and, hopefully, winning the top prize.

And, he added, the band was already planning ahead by currently putting together a big promo tour around the UK.

“We just need to get out there and perform so we can get ourselves known,” said Jake.

To hear R3ACTION’s music, visit wwww.youtube.com/r3actionmedia.

You can also check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/r3actiononline or follow them on Twitter @r3action_online

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