A BISTRO in Bradford could be the unlikely starting place for the next big pop star thanks to a competition to find singing talent.

A “recording booth” has been set up in Forster’s Bistro in City Park as part of the “Sound of Forsters” competition, and budding singers aged 16-25 will be invited to take part in weekly audition sessions.

They will not be performing in front of a live crowd, taking much of the pressure aways.

After their acapella tracks are heard by judges, some will then progress to the final, and later this year the final few will be recorded for a CD to be released later this year. It is hoped that some celebrities will be called in to judge the winners.

The competition is being sponsored by Bradford Live, the group that plans to re-open the former Odeon cinema as a live music venue.

Mark Philpott, of the bistro, said: “It is part of the push to bring live music into the bistro, and by the end of the year we will have made a CD of these singers.”

Further auditions will be held on January 21 and 28 between 6pm and 8pm.