Former Melton college student lights up TV show The Voice

Shekinah ‘Shaka’ Macfarlane attained a Level 3 Musical Theatre qualification at the town campus of Brooksby Melton College, part of the SMB College Group.

And she blew music legends Sir Tom Jones and Olly Murs away and impressed millions of viewers with her performance on the ITV1 show.

Shaka sang ‘Good Luck’ by Basement Jaxx in her first blind audition for The Voice UK, which aired last month and, almost instantly, Olly turned around to select Shaka for his team.

He told her: “I’m so happy you applied for the show and you’re here now.”

Sir Tom also enjoyed her performance, adding: “You can definitely sing, and you deserve to be on here.”

Last weekend on the show, Shaka performed ‘Every Little Step’, by Bobby Brown, alongside contestants Benjamin Moss and Andres Cruz to fight for a place on Team Olly’s semi-final line-up.

After impressing Olly and guest mentor James Arthur, Shaka was successful in securing a spot in the latter stages of the contest.

Olly commented: “Shaka did brilliantly - she won us over with her personality, but delivered a great performance and I wanted to work with her again.”

Shaka has always spoken highly of her time at the Melton college campus and staff there say they are incredibly proud of her progress through the show and her blossoming career within the industry.

She posted on her Instagram page (@shakasing_lcuk) : “Big up to the place that truly unlocked the young performer that was within.

“I’ve taken a lot of what I learnt forward with me still use the knowledge over 10 years on!

“Best 2 years of my training – hands down!”

Since studying at college, Shaka has had a fantastic career in performing arts, including playing Anna of Cleves in the Six the Musical tour.

SMB College Group’s Melton Campus is home to one of the leading performing arts academies in the country, featuring a 340-seat commercial theatre, dance studios with sprung flooring, and professional recording studios.