Singing star sidelined for awards night

A PROMISING chorister nominated for a prestigious music award has been left devastated after record bosses allegedly snubbed her ahead of the ceremony.

Isabel Suckling, a chorister at York Minster, is up for the Classic FM Album Of The Year for her debut release The Choirgirl and had been looking forward to the awards evening in the Royal Albert Hall next month.

But after being nominated for a Classic Brit the 13-year-old has now been told she will have to sit with the general public at the awards ceremony on May 12 rather than at dinner tables like the other nominees.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She is the only child nominated in a category that includes opera greats Russell Watson, Bryn Terfel, and Aled Jones.

But the Suckling family say they were told days ago that Isabel could enter on the red carpet with the other nominees but could not join them for the lavish meal at smart tables paid for by the record labels involved. The budget does not stretch far enough to include her and instead, she will have to sit in the stalls with the paying audience. Isabel became the youngest classical solo artist to sign for a leading label when she agreed a five-album deal with Decca a week before her 12th birthday in March 2010.

The Choirgirl peaked at No.3 in the classical chart in December. But only a few weeks ago Decca terminated the contract. Isabel’s father, James Suckling, 52, said he believed the decision to drop Isabel may be behind the sidelining of her at the awards ceremony. He said: “This is outrageous. How can you nominate someone and, if they choose to go to the event, expect them to sit on the side with the public and watch all the other nominees sitting around tables? When Isabel was told she was really sad, almost in tears, saying: ‘I don’t understand, Daddy, what’s this all about?’”

Rebecca Allen, Head of Media Relations at Decca Records, said: “This is a matter we would prefer to deal with directly with Isabel’s parents and management.”

Related topics: