Dreams of securing a recording contract could soon become a reality for one teenage singer.

Former Westlands School pupil Anita Majuru is through to the finals of the national singing competition Roc Da Mic which has been organised with the help of X Factor winner Alexandra Burke's mum Melissa Bell.

The 19-year-old full-time NHS mental health support worker will perform Jennifer Hudson's 'I'm Telling You' in front of a panel of judges at Club 2k, Wembley, on Sunday, September 19. The prize up for grabs is £10,000 plus a recording contract with the independent record label RDA.

It's down to the audience to decide who wins so Anita is urging as many people as possible to buy a ticket to see her perform and vote for her on the night.

Anita, of Agate Court, Sittingbourne, said: "I've got 100 tickets to sell and so far I've only sold 30. I'm really excited. Even if I don't win I'm hoping I'll be spotted by a talent scout and they'll want to work with me."

To ensure her voice is at its best Anita is steering clear of fizzy drinks, drinking tea with honey, practising her singing at work and continuing with her choir singing at Ichthus Christian Fellowship in Sittingbourne.

But Anita very nearly didn't make it through to the finals.

She said: "I sang Jonathan Butler's 'Love Never Fails' and the response from the judges was that they really liked me but you went through to the finals on audience votes and I only had 12 people there and the others had a lot more than me so I didn't go through.

"But the next day I was called and told the judges had had a meeting and I was going through to the finals. I was screaming and rushing around the house shouting 'they've changed their minds, they want me."

Alexandra Burk's mum Melissa - a former member of the group Soul II Soul which is best known for its UK chart topper Back to Life - phoned the Sittingbourne Messenger office last week urging readers to support Anita.

She said: "When Anita came along to the auditions at the Hilton Hotel in Maidstone [in March] she totally blew me away with the power she exerts. One of the judges from EMI even said 'this girl is something else, she's amazing' but I knew she was amazing from the start.

"There will be celebrity guests at the finals. Alex is not associated with this apart from the fact she is my daughter but hopefully she will be a judge at the finals."

Roc Da Mic is a charity event raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, the Kidney Patient Association and the Haiti Appeal.

Tickets to the final cost £10 each and are available by emailing Anita at ladytabzy45@hotmail.co.uk

For more information about the competition, visit http://www.rocdamic.com/