NORTH-EAST singing sensation, Zoe Birkett, overcame a last-minute crisis to make it through to the last six of Pop Idols at the weekend.

Only 24 hours before the latest heat of the ITV show was broadcast live, Zoe, 16, was told she could not sing the number she had spent all week rehearsing.

Last week, Zoe and the other six contestants had been invited to a recording studio to practise their chosen songs to fit the theme "songs from the movies".

Zoe, from Darlington, chose The Power of Love by Jennifer Rush but on Friday night at 6pm she discovered the track had never appeared in a film.

A frantic search for another song ended with just 24 hours to perfect a rendition of Street Life from the film Jackie Brown - a song Zoe had never heard before.

But the lack of preparation did not daunt Zoe and her live performance on Saturday night was praised by all three judges.

One of them, showbiz guru Pete Waterman, said: "I take my hat off to you."

* Following complaints from readers of The Northern Echo that they could not get through to vote for Zoe, a reporter tried for two hours on Saturday and failed to get anything but an engaged tone.

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