Performing is in Sia Spence?s blood and her plans are to get the attention of the international music makers after winning this year?s Annual Hott 107.5 FM Bermuda idol competition.

Ms Spence is no stranger to the stage and has performed at the Apollo, and in Los Angeles won the Best New Band Award with Kion Simmons? band Blaque Pearl.

She currently sings with Legacy and has regular gigs at weddings and other events.

She is the daughter of Robert (Sai) Emery and Shirley Spence. Mr. Spence is a percussionist, singer and now a recording artist. He is also the lead singer of The Life Sentence Band, which has did several gigs this summer.

Her grandmother Thelma Dill, played piano and her grandfather was guitarist the late ?Billy the Kid? Simons.

But with all her experience, the Bermuda Idol competition was the first time that Ms Spence, 26, had butterflies in her tummy.

?The day before I was very nervous,? she said, ?and I have never been like that before. I don?t suffer from stage fright.

?I was even thinking about changing my song because it was so hard to sing. I have never really messed up too much while singing, so I was thinking that I don?t want to go on the stage and mess up this time.

?During the event I heard two people and they sounded really good so I was downstairs shaking in my boots. I thought to myself that this is stiff competition.

?But once I actually got on stage and started my performance ? the stage was mine. I saw the reaction and the response from the audience and the judges and I felt confident after that.?

But did she think that she had a good chance of walking away with the trophy?

?Well everybody else thought that I had a good chance of winning, but me personally, I didn?t know what my competition would be like because I hadn?t heard many of the singers before,? she said.

?Everyone else could have been better than me, but everyone had confidence in me.?

She did not enter the competition last year even though her public demanded it.

?Well last year everyone was asking me to do it, but I was pregnant with my daughter ?mal, and that was my excuse,? she said.

?But this year the same people were asking me to enter and saying that I could win and I think that I was one of the last people to audition.

?I got up and I didn?t know what song I was going to sing and I went in and just did it. It wasn?t anything exciting for me, but I thought ?let me do it for the sake of doing it?, but I really don?t like competitions so I wasn?t going to enter.?

Her winning performance was a rendition of Mariah Carey?s song ?Mine Again.

She said: ?I had heard it on the radio one day and I wanted to sing something different from my usual repertoire and I thought, ?you know what, I am going to sing this song?.

?So, that is how I chose it.?

Her first time on stage was about 16 years ago when she sang for World Children?s Day at the National Stadium.

?I have been singing since I was probably about five or six, but my first time on stage was probably when I was about ten,? she said.

?Since then I have been in Gina Spence Productions, Asde and from there I joined the Vernon Temple AME Youth Choir.

?That is when I really came out of my shell and it strengthened my voice. After that I began singing in everyone?s weddings.

?Now I sing with Legacy and I would like to thank them because it was there that I have really grown as an artist. In the band I have been able to do different things with my voice versus singing to an instrumental track.

You can free-up more so I?d like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to sing in that way.?

She joined Legacy after the late Winston Degraff, who was a saxophonist and founder of the band, spotted her on the steps of City Hall.

?I?ve been working with Legacy for the past four or five years and on a regular basis for the past two years.

?He heard me one day at City Hall when I was singing ?Loving You? by Minnie Riperton and he was like, ?I need to get that girl in my band?. He saw a lot of potential in me.?

Singing with the band has widened her repertoire, said the first soprano.

?With the band we do pop, R&B, jazz, blues,? she said.

?But on my own I usually sing lots of ballads, but I can do a mixture of different styles.?

But for her continued success, she is always looking at improving her craft.

?I had some singing lessons when I was about 12 with Leroy Simmons for about a year,? she said.

?And my voice really, really matured a whole lot when I was in the choir. But I would still like to do voice lessons because although a lot of people think I sound good, I know that there are some things that I am still not doing right and I know that I would be a lot better if I took voice lessons.?

Unlike last year?s winner who had a producer flown in, this year the Bermuda Idol winner and last year?s runner up Twan?e Butterfield are attending The 14th Annual Music Seminar: Making it in the Music Industry, in Chicago.

Some of the celebrities who will be in attendance are Russell Simmons, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Jermaine Dupri.

The seminar will feature workshops for actors, budding Hip Hop artists, and models to name a few of the events.

?It looks promising,? said the winner, who leaves the Island tomorrow.

?They plan to talk about the music business and how to handle things.

?I guess they have other things in store for me because we are there until September 19. I hope to meet excellent contacts who will help my career grow.?

Ms Spence?s aim is to one day be a successful full time performer.

?I would love to sing for my career, but it is very hard here to lead a life as a musician or a singer,? she said.

?But to leave Bermuda to go out there to try to make it is a big sacrifice to pursue that life. So, on that note I am glad that I do have this opportunity because it puts me ahead of the game and it makes it a lot easier.

?I am hoping that something does come out of it, because in the past I have had promises made that were not kept, so, my spirits and hopes about singing were brought down.?

A few years ago Ms Spence left Bermuda on the invitation of a very good friend of hers, Kion Simmons.

?He gave me a very good opportunity and a great experience about two years ago,? she said.

?I dropped everything and I went to Boston. We went on the road with his band Blaque Pearl and although it didn?t work out, I am glad for the experience that we had.

?We also went to the Apollo and although we didn?t win, we did do well.

We also performed in Los Angeles in a Best New Talent competition and we won the award for Best New Band.

?That was a very, very, good experience for me and I wish I could have stayed, but due to circumstances I couldn?t.?

She sends special thanks to Karu, who sponsored the winner to attend the seminar, Hott107.5 fm for hosting the event, her employers the Bank of Bermuda, Legacy, and all of her family, friends and fans who were there or who viewed the event on television.

?The contest is great because it is a showcase of all the talent that is here in Bermuda,? she said.

?I think it is great because sometimes I think there is a lot more talent out there, but they are not able to showcase it.

?So now that those people have been on stage, hopefully people see that there are other singers out there.?

Does she see herself as becoming famous ? a household?

?Well, it is a scary thought!? she said laughing. ?It is so much that comes with it and it is overwhelming now when people see you walking down the street ? people have offered their congratulations and some have said, ?oh you are standing next to the Bermuda Idol!?

?It is weird and I know that it is more to come if I do become famous, but I think that I can handle it.

?I have a very humble spirit and I hope that I remain that way. I think that this has given me a good push.?

If you missed the Bermuda Idol Competition, Ms Spence will be performing at the Music Festival with Patti LaBelle and Al Green next month.

She will also be performing with Legacy at the Flatts Festival, on September 19.