A FORMER Katy Perry impersonator is making waves with her own melodies after shining in a national contest.

Melody Hodgson, who was born in Northallerton and now lives in Guisborough, took centre stage at the Open Mic UK finals in Birmingham at the weekend.

The 22-year-old was among only 25 people to get the opportunity to perform in front of industry professionals on the look-out for up-and-coming talent.

She said: “It was an amazing opportunity for me to perform at such a big event and to make the finals at my first time of trying.

“It was a great experience to play in front of representatives and compete along with talented people from all over the UK.

“It was truly a tough one and I learned a lot and plan to push forward even more.

“Being part of something like that brings up possibilities for me to be contacted in the future and the overall winner hasn’t been announced yet.”

Her love of music spans from an early age, appearing on TV twice before being spotted as a potential Katy Perry impersonator.

At 15, she made it to the boot camp stage of the Philippines equivalent of The X Factor, where she lived while she was growing up, before returning to Britain last year.

She said: “It was great experience and built up my confidence. I have been producing my own music for years, but was never brave enough to perform it.”

A few years ago, Miss Hodgson contracted dengue fever – a mosquito-borne tropical disease – days before one of her most important stage performances.

“I was performing five shows in one day as part of a rock musical and there was no stand in,” she said.

“When I was rushed to hospital the next day the doctor was amazed that I didn’t collapse. I believe it was my passion for performing that got me through.”

Miss Hodgson has applied for this year’s Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor.

She added: “I am so happy to be performing original songs and can’t believe I had such a good response from a new country with a new audience.”