Young vocalists have made it through to the finals of a singing competition – after being inspired by their former rock star mums. 

Ex-Wilmslow High pupil Natasha Smith, 19, and cousin Shannon Goode, 17, from Wrexham, will compete at the Open Mic UK 2013 Regional Finals after winning her regional heats.

They were entered in the competition by Natasha’s mum, Tania Prince, who toured the world during the late 1980s and early 1990s as part of the rock group Crazy Little Sister, which also featured Shannon’s mum, Jackie Goode. 

The young duo, known as Acoustic Carpets, beat almost 10,000 hopefuls to get through.

Natasha, who lives with her mum at Vale Head, Handforth, said the advice her mum passed down was a big help as she looks to forge a career in singing.

She said: “My mum used to be in a band with my auntie Jackie, Shannon’s mum. She has always been right behind me and given me advice.

“The competition was really great, it’s like the X Factor, you go up and sing in front of five judges.

Natasha, who is about to start her second year studying Mathematics at Liverpool University, said: “We perform all our own songs, we don’t perform covers so I think that gives us an edge.

Crazy Little Sister with Natasha’s mum Tania Prince, left, and Shannon’s mum, Jackie Goode, centre

“At the heat we performed one that my auntie Jackie had written for us called ‘Kiss Me’.”

 Tania, 50, was in Crazy Little Sister for four years and now works as a hypnotherapist.

She said: “We were a rock band and wrote all the songs ourselves. It was me, my Sister Jackie and another girl called Tanya who was from Liverpool.

“We didn’t release any albums but Sting’s manager was interested in signing us at one point, he used to come and see us quite a lot.

“I decided to put Natasha forward for Open Mic UK because she was out the country partying and I thought it would be perfect for her. She has always dreamt about been a singer, she would be perfect for it as well. 

“They are both creative girls and fantastic at everything really, they love performing. It’s nice to be able to give them guidance but they don’t need much, they just go for it.”

The girls will now perform in front of hundreds of audience members and a music industry judging panel at the regional final aiming to win a place at the grand final at The O2 Arena in London.

You can listen to Acoustic Carpets on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/user973143491 or follow the band on Twitter @AcousticCarpets.