COUNTLESS young pop star wannabes may dream of winning telly talent The X Factor, but that fast track to fame is not something that interests Sharon Fehlberg.
COUNTLESS young pop star wannabes may dream of winning telly talent The X Factor, but that fast track to fame is not something that interests Sharon Fehlberg.
The 27-year-old singer, from Paisley, would much prefer the traditional recipe to success: hard work and talent. And years of dedication may now be paying off for Sharon and her band Systematix.
Following a successful summer playing musical festivals and high profile gigs, there is a palpable buzz of excitement surrounding the group.
Sharon said: "I auditioned for The X Factor a few years ago with a group of friends, who are all amazing singers.
"Not one of us got through to be auditioned by the panel. That's when I thought: this is just for telly and has nothing to do with real talent."
Sharon, who has been singing for almost as long as she could speak, joined musical forces last year with Stuart McNiven and DJ Scott Laing to form Systematix.
The trio's blend of commercial dance music and old school hardcore sounds have earned them a cult following amongst dance music fans.
While this summer was spent developing their live performance skills at concerts across the country, including in front of 18,000 people at the Scottish Modified Car Show, the trio are now concentrating on studio work, where they are recording new material.
They also recently finished making a video for one of their songs, Holding On, and have attracted interest from record labels keen to snap them up.
Two European management firms are chasing their signature and they were recently voted Song Of The Week on Dave Pearce's BBC Radio 6 show.
It is hardly surprising Sharon has opted for a life in the cut-throat music business. Both parents were musicians and mum Lorraine was a part of the group Middle Of The Road, most famous for its 1971 No 1 hit Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, although Lorraine joined after that.
"I was born into a musical family, so it was natural I would do the same thing," says Sharon, a professional singer who has devoted her life full-time to chasing her dream.
"From around three or four, I started showing signs of being able to sing."
When Sharon was a child, her mum married Stuart McCredie, also from Middle Of The Road.
"They had their own recording studio," says Sharon, "and I was always in and out of it. I loved being in the studio and when I began singing as a wee girl, I used to do session work. I even did stuff for the boy band 911.
"But as I got older I started writing my own songs and that is when I realised I wanted to make singing my life."
As a youngster with obvious talents, Sharon decided to flex her creative muscles and try her hand at acting.
"When I was 11, I went to acting school and joined the Pace Theatre Company in Paisley, alongside people like James McAvoy and David Sneddon."
But it was not long before she realised singing was her first love.
"I was fortunate I was brought into the business from such a young age. It has always been part of my life and a studio feels like my second home because I have spent so much time in them.
"When I am on stage it feels second nature to me because of my mum and dad.
"I grew up listening to everything, but towards the end of primary school, the old school dance music, the kind we are doing, was huge in Scotland, with bands like TTF.
"It is the kind of music making a comeback and what we love to play."
However, it is a far cry from the kind of music heard in the Fehlberg house when Sharon was growing up. "The kind of singers that inspired me were big soulful singers, like Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.
"But I listened to country because my parents were into the Eagles and Emmylou Harris."
It is clear Sharon takes her role as a songwriter seriously and she has been collaborating with singer/songwriter Jamie Duffin, son of Graeme Duffin, of Wet Wet Wet fame.
She adds: "It is more country and soul, a completely different style to Systematix. I just love singing and you can't pigeon-hole yourself."
With the realisation of Sharon's dream tantalisingly close, she is as determined as ever not to give up.
"If you are born with a dream you should never let it go," she says. "People expect success too quickly, even I was guilty of that.
"Because my mum and step-dad were quite well known in Europe, I thought it would be a breeze, but it wasn't. I was guilty when I was younger of not working as hard as I should have. Now I have learned my lesson. But that is just something you learn as you get older."
As much as Systematix are gaining an ever-increasing number of young fans, Sharon admits she is unlikely to hear it on her mum's stereo any time soon.
She says: "Both my parents are very supportive but I don't think that kind of music is really their cup of tea."
- www.myspace.com/systematix
