PERFORMING in front of industry heavyweights including Seal, Delta Goodrem and Keith Urban was the realisation of a dream for up-and-coming Bunbury songstress Codee-Lee Down.
And it could be a step on the way to international fame as she climbs the ladder on reality singing competition, The Voice.
The former Bunbury Senior High School students has beaten thousand of hopefuls to be named among the best on the high profile show.
The talented guitarist and singer auditioned online for the competition in October last year and was thrilled to make it through to a physical audition.
Miss Down flew to Sydney in December as part of the top 150 and made the cut for the top 100 at the start of this year.
Then came the moment when she performed a blind audition in front of British singer Seal, Australian star Delta Goodrem, Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden and country crooner Keith Urban.
Miss Down said the auditions were exhausting days with up to 17 hours of filming and nervous anticipation, but it was one of the best experiences of her life.
“I got a hug and a kiss from Keith and Delta, which was amazing because Keith has always been one of my idols,” she said.
“It was fantastic to hear feedback on my music – Joel Madden told me he loved my original songs and pushed me to continue writing my own music.”
Miss Down is no stranger to success, having been selected to be a youth minister for a day, meeting the Queen when she visited Australia last year and regularly performing gigs with her original music.
The next step of the competition is a battle round where two singers go head-to-head, but Miss Down could not reveal if she had made it through as the show will go to air this weekend.
The Voice will premiere at 6.30pm this Sunday on Channel Nine and WIN.
