Alex Parks hears she has won the chance of fame and fortune

Alex, 19, became one of the lucky 13 finalists to enter the house when she appeared in the last heats on Wednesday.

At stake is a lucrative recording contract and the life of a pop star for a year.

Alex was up against six others with her version of the Christina Aguilera song, Beautiful.

I don't know how you managed to get kind of emotion into a song Judge Carrie Grant

She was cheered on in the studio by her parents and brother.

Alex's performance won the public vote, and also impressed the judges.

Singing coach Carrie Grant said: "You are only 19 and I don't know how you managed to get kind of emotion into a song.

"You managed to get in angst and joy.

"I would say that your voice was working at about 50%. I desperately want to get it to 100%."

Alex has been writing soft rock songs since the age of 15.

But her first musical performance was at the age of 13 when she was on school camp.

When she was 15 she entered and won a singing competition, winning �2,000.

That led to her joining soft-rock band One Trick Pony where she wrote her first song To You.

She grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Elvis. But she is particularly inspired by powerful and independent singer-songwriters such as Ani di Franco, Annie Lennox, Skin from Skunk Anansi and Jimi Hendrix.