SHE usually performs for pennies outside a North-East pastie shop.

But this weekend an unemployed teenage busker will perform in front of the stars - and millions of viewers - on a television talent show.

Nineteen-year-old Chloe Castro, who lives in supported accommodation in Spennymoor, County Durham, and is regular fixture outside Greggs on Saddler Street, in Durham City, will be on The Voice on Saturday night.

The talented singer is hoping to impress superstar coaches will.i.am, Boy George, Paloma Faith and Ricky Wilson at the blind auditions stage of the contest with her version of From Eden by Hozier.

Miss Castro said: “It is quite surreal. I don’t really make a living from music at the minute.

“It is very difficult, but I try. It is just to keep me happy and to get people to hear me.

“I live on about £45 a week, which I get in benefits, but that is not enough so I find myself going to the streets to add to that money and to please people.

“The look on people’s faces is what I do it for. It is nice to know I can make other people happy with what I do.”

Miss Castro, who moved to Durham, from London with her mother when she was 12, went to Framwellgate School and Durham Community Business College, before completing a BTEC in music at New College Durham.

She has lived independently since she was 16, spending time homeless supported by friends and in hostels, but now has a flat lined up in Spennymoor.

She been singing since she was a young girl and has previously applied to be on Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor.

Miss Castro said: “I have always sang since I can remember. I have been trying to do these competitions since I was 11 and have not got through. It has finally paid off.

“I have had a hard time but this has put things into perspective for me and life is what you make it.

“I never thought I could achieve this and this has proved to me that I have got potential. I have just got to fight for it.”

The Voice is on Saturday on BBC One at 7.15pm. Miss Castro, who performs original songs and cover versions, is planning to busk at her usual spot in Durham from 12noon on Sunday.