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w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R W ed n es d ay , J u ly 2 7, 2 01 1 1 4 Artscene Teen gets chance to shine on YTV's Next Star show By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF White Oaks Secondary School Grade 10 student Sydney Delong has loved singing her entire life and two years ago she added guitar and song writing to her repertoire. Now, shes hoping to become The Next Star. The 15-year-old is getting her chance after she was selected to be a competitor on the fourth season of YTVs hit talent search show, The Next Star. I never expected this at all because there were so many kids that were so amazing and had so much more experience than I did. It was overwhelming for a bit. I was really scared, she said. Im really happy. Delong was selected onto The Next Star after she auditioned for the shows judges at the Toronto filming, which aired Monday, July 25. The show airs every Monday night at 7 p.m. on YTV, with competitors competing each week and hoping to become The Next Star at the shows finale on Sept. 25. Delong is hoping to get her shot at the title with her singing. She brought her gui- tar to the audition and said she gave it her all. I was really nervous that I would just forget my guitar and stop playing. It took me a lot of practice, the life-long Oakville resi- dent said. I played an original song of mine. It was called Little King. It was great. I didnt have to worry about making it my own, I didnt have any such problems. The shy Delong has been a closet musi- cian for the last two years, writing her own songs for as long as shes been playing the guitar. She has had vocal lessons on and off over the years as well. I kept it a secret for a long time when I started writing my own songs because I was really scared what people would think about them. One day (my friends) were on my computer and they found these songs. They didnt know who they were by, Delong said. The young indie-folk musician has recorded seven songs, two of which are online. She said her biggest inspiration for writing music is the English folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was her friends who encouraged Delong to put her musical abilities to the test with the YTV show.ON STAGE: Oakville's Sydney Delong was chosen by judges to compete in this year's The Next Star talent search television show on YTV. SUBMITTED PHOTO I never expected this at all because there were so many kids that were so amazing and had so much more experience than I did. Sydney Delong, competitor on The Next Star See Friends page 16