Nervous wait for NZGT hopeful

Tauranga singing sensation Fletcher Oxford has a nerve-racking week ahead as he waits for the results of the grand-final of New Zealand's Got Talent.

The 12-year-old Tauranga Intermediate student sung his heart out last night in the two-hour final 7.30pm on TV One.


Tauranga Intermediate student Fletcher Oxford.

Fletcher auditioned for the show when it first aired in September with a Ronan Keating song ‘When you say nothing at all' which he dedicated to his runaway cat Sushi.

The young star has since made one of the 12 semi-final spots in the competition and says singing on the reality talent show has allowed him to introduce himself to the country.

'I was born singing. I grew up thinking that's normal. It's been the best experience ever and a great opportunity to be able to show New Zealand what I can do.

'The audience is always great.”

Fletcher began playing the guitar when he was eight-years-old. After winning a $100 prize for his entry in the school's science fair and saving up his pocket money he was able to buy his own.

'So, engineering brought me to singing kind of.”

Since then, he has collected signatures from NZGT judges Rachel Hunter, Ali Campbell and Jason Kerrison including Australian singer Delta Goodrem and Breakfast presenter Tamati Coffey.

Fletcher says the judge's feedback is very helpful.

'It's great to have such famous people critique or compliment my singing and what I do and just how I enjoy it up there. It's really cool to have good feedback from people you never really get to meet.

'They are the people who have experienced it all. I just take that all in. It's helpful. They are really nice people.”

He says his ‘grown up' vocabulary and song lyrics come from his love for speaking and writing.

'I always like speaking. I have always enjoyed writing. I always get ideas quickly. I just seem to have those ideas in my head.

'They just seem to be more grown up than myself. Presenting speeches is a thing I am good at.

'But the lyrics, that's something very different. I have always had the words inside me but I have just never been able to get them out really.”

Inspired by Rod Stewart and Ronan Keating, Fletcher says the key to writing good lyrics is the ability to understanding them.

'I always look up to Rod Stewart and Ronan Keating and Westlife.

'That's another place where I get my lyrics from and I just like their genre. The music that I write it's different and it's got a lot of emotion in it.

'It's about being silent and listening to the lyrics and understanding them.”

Fletcher's parents Steve and Lynette Oxford say their son decided to enter the competition when he saw it on Breakfast on TV One and New Zealand has fallen in love with the young star since.

'He's got quite a package. He's got stage presence, he's got a beautiful voice, he has got an incredible story. There's nothing made up about it and he's only 12,” says Lynette.

'Because he is only 12 and he sings from the heart.

'It's because of the love and support of his family, friends and teachers that have voted for him. Without all those people he wouldn't be where he is. We really thank them.”

Fletcher's big brother Luke Oxford, who also has a love for music and plays the piano, says there is more to come from his little brother.

'He's got more hidden talents.”

Voters have until Tuesday lunchtime to vote for their favourite performer before the results on TV One next Sunday.

1 comment

summer fest

Posted on 26-11-2012 20:25 | By ecodec

How about letting him play at the Summer fest.


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