March 6, 2012 7.30 am This story is over 149 months old

Lincoln singer impresses at national music competition

Pushing forward: Local singer Hannah Robinson talks about being in a national music contest, her inspirations and favourite places to play.

— Hannah Robinson is bringing a touch of the East to the Live and Unsigned competition, a contest for unsigned artists to showcase their talent, with her unique brand of acoustic pop. The 22 year-old Lincoln singer and guitarist made it through the first round of the competition and told The Lincolnite about how she is preparing for the final.

Music has always been a big piece of Hannah’s life. She’s been on stage performing since a young age and her dad was also a singer-songwriter.

“It’s always been a part of me. I was adamant to learn the guitar because I think it’s the perfect instrument to accompany yourself,” she said.

Having built on her talents by writing songs and performing in venues familiar to most musicians in the city, Hannah now prefers a different kind of audience.

“I played Kind, L4 and bars like that, but I love busking most. It can be daunting, but I feel much closer to the audience that way, and because people aren’t expecting to see you there you get genuine reactions.”

Hannah’s confidence as a performer comes from playing original material and covers amongst Lincoln’s High Street shoppers, and she’s now preparing for the next round of the Live and Unsigned competition on March 25 in Sheffield.

“I’m trying to reassess my image and write a new song to give something different this time around,” she added.

Her secret weapon for the event stems from her love of all things Japanese. “I started reading manga comics years ago and learnt Japanese so I could pronounce the names properly.”

Ever since, the influence from the land of the rising sun has made its way into Hannah’s original music, and even finds her adding a twist to favourite busking covers by translating them.

“I love Japanese pop and rock, and the sound of the words really suits my singing voice. I’m also going to incorporate that style into my outfit for the evening, because visuals are an important part of a show too.”

With this unexpected inspiration, alongside a soulful and natural singing voice, Hannah should be on course to wow the judges later this month.

Listen to Hannah’s cover of Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars: