Shepherd's Bush's West 12 Shopping Centre is holding the finals of its Search for a Star competition this weekend, with live performances from the five top new talents.

The centre says hundreds of entries have flooded in from soul singers, rappers, classical artists, hip- hoppers and rock bands, which have been whittled down to five fantastic semi-finalists who will perform live on Saturday, October 29 between 1pm and 4 pm.

The West 12 judging panel, including a record company scout, will decide on their top two acts to battle it out in a final showdown on Sunday October 30. They will be onstage between 1p and 3pm on Sunday and shoppers will have the the opportunity to cheer them on and choose the ultimate winner.

The chosen five are:

Tir Eolas, based in West London, formed around three years ago. They perform a mixture of original material, their own arrangements of a broad range of traditional folk music (from Swedish to Canadian!) as well as unexpected covers of popular songs. The band is formed of five budding musicians: Philippa Mercer (vocals, flute, whistles), Laura Snowden (vocals, guitar), Ruairi Glasheen (vocals, percussion), Kristina Edin (vocals, bass) and Georgie Harris (vocals, viola). The group has a headline spot at The Troubadour in London and often busk in Portobello Road – or any sunny corner of London they happen to be passing through!

Andreas Liberos, 21-year-old solo performer and composer. Andreas has been singing all his life. He recently decided that he was serious about a career in the Music Industry and did a two-year music diploma at Westminster Kingsway College. Andreas is a confident performer and has appeared in nightclubs around Central London and at music conventions in Paris and Miami. Andreas works in retail by day – at the Ralph Lauren store in Bond Street and West 12’s own VUE cinema. He describes his music as a mix of European House and R&B, though he also enjoys other genres such as Jazz, Rock and Indie.

FreakStatic, a three piece band formed two years ago when the boys met at local University, the Tech Music School. Lead singer and guitarist Matt Matuska (22), drummer Josh Marler (22) and bass player Richard Hunter (20) describe themselves as great friends as well as band mates. The trio write their own material and find time to rehearse around their University schedules and part time jobs. They describe their music as alternative rock / indie and cite Kings of Leon, Rage against the machine and Red Hot Chilli Peppers as their musical inspirations. They respect bands that have a lot of energy – and hope they will do the same when they perform at West 12.

Jumeee  a 25-year-old solo artist (his name means “I will not deny the gift that God has given me”) is a dance teacher and events organiser by day, performing pop star by night! He describes his music as alternative pop that is funky, fresh and different. Jumeee’s influences span from world music originating from parts of Africa and India and old school Miami Bass – with a modern/pop twist. His manifesto is to get people up and dancing. Jumeee promises to live up to the 3 ‘e’s in his name when he performs on Saturday which stand for: electric, eccentric and explosive.

Jessica Sharman, a 23-year-old singer songwriter, Jessica is also a part time Music Teacher and also lectures in Art History in Italy every summer. She has been writing music since she was 11 and dreams to one day write and produce her own hit single. She is passionate about music and lists Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell and Gary Barlow among her many inspirations. She listens to a variety of genres, but writes in pop-country style which suits her angelic singing voice.

There is a fantastic prize at stake: time in Wendy House Productions famous recording studios where they will have a chance to lay down their tracks and be one step closer to being a star. The likes of Stevie Wonder, Adele, Annie Lennox, Kissy Sell Out, Robbie Williams and Kylie have put down their hits in this studio.

Gavin Waller, centre director at West 12 comments on the search: “We know there are lots of talented musicians living locally so we’re really excited about giving these people a platform to launch their career. With so many different styles of music making the charts at the moment from classical music to hip-hop, we’re expecting a diverse array of entries.”