SINGER Jodie Harris has been crowned the winner of the 2007 Sunrise Talent contest.The talented songstress, of Blything Court, Worlingham, got the judges' vote during Sunday's contest which was hotly contested by nine other young budding stars of the future.

SINGER Jodie Harris has been crowned the Sunrise Talent winner.

The talented songstress, of Blything Court, Worlingham, got the judges' vote during Sunday's contest which was hotly contested by nine other young budding stars of the future.

Her rendition of Shakira's Underneath Your Clothes and an acappella version of the Irish folk song Green Fields of France, by The Fureys and Davey Arthur, tipped the balance in favour of the 13-year-old who pipped Irish dancers Lizi Stanley and Lucy Collins into second place and Charlotte Bullen, who came third.

The final, held at the Hotel Victoria, in Lowestoft, attracted a host of family, friends and supporters who filled the hotel's ballroom, with the competition estimated to have raised up to £1,700 for the Princes Trust.

Jodie, a pupil at the Sir John Leman High School, walked off with the first prize of £500 with Lizi and Lucy picking up £100 and Charlotte £50.

But all 10 acts didn't go away empty handed as music store Morlings provided vouchers for all the other seven contestants.

It was third time lucky for Jodie who has entered the contest since it was first launched.

“I was so shocked to have won,” she said. “I thought that there were some acts that had a bigger chance of winning than I did and I didn't think that I would get first place in a million years.”

The teenager, who is starring in the lead role of Cinderella, which is being staged by Worlingham Players at the village hall between January 31 and February 2, went on to pay tribute to her grandfather who helped her with rehearsing.

“He has been fantastic and would not have been able to done all this without him,” she said.

“I love singing and I've been doing it ever since I was only two,” she added.

Proud grandfather John Libbey, 58, of Castle Hill, Beccles, said: “She certainly seems to have an ability. Ever since she was very young she would be singing or dancing. We do lots of practising together. The effort and the way she conducts herself is just brilliant.”

Now she is planning to put the prize money towards a sound system to help further her career and you can catch Jodie performing with the Waveney Light Opera Group at the Waveney Centre on Sunday at 3pm.