Emma McGann

Rising drum & bass wizz Protostar kicks off the new-year by linking up with vocalist Emma McGann for Where I Belong via Monstercat.

Galactic in its nature, Protostar’s production in Where I Belong builds up to the tune of Emma’s heavenly vocals before entering another stratosphere at full throttle when the beat drops. Infused with a rendition of drums, Protostar and Emma’s collaboration showcases the brilliance that occurs when the world of DnB and zesty pop collides.

Joining him on the vocals is singer, author, TEDx Talk-er and all-round pioneer Emma McGann who hails from Coventry, UK. Although a small-town girl, her voice coupled with her grand ambitions are anything but. Fearless in her approach, Emma shoots from the hip which has caught the attention of some of the industry’s fiercest female forces including Kylie Minogue, Nancy Sinatra and Beth Hart.

With smashes like Love You to Death, Cherry On Top and lets not forget Idol off her second album B.R.A.V.E, it is no wonder her unique vocals has landed her airplays across BBC Radio 1 and BBC Introducing, nominations for two Shorty Awards as well as iHeart Radio Music Award.

Protostar featuring Emma McGann – Where I Belong is out now via Monstercat. - Rave Jungle

Live video is an increasingly common way for musicians to interact with their fans, from album and tour launches on Facebook to fan Q&As on Instagram and even streaming gaming sessions on Twitch or YouTube.

One aspect of livestreaming that still flies under the western music industry’s radar, though, are standalone live-video apps like YouNow, LiveMe and (until it was shut down in June 2018) Live.ly. Yet these apps, with their native stars and tip-based economies, are well worth studying.

One example of a musician building her audience through this route is British artist Emma McGann. She has nearly 204,000 fans on YouNow, where her videos have generated nearly 11m views since she started broadcasting using the app four years ago.

“I was doing the whole slog of touring independently, paying for myself. Then one day I did this livestream from the back of the tourbus, and I got so much more impressions on socials and sales on iTunes from that one livestream than from anything else I’d done,” she tells Music Ally.

Since then, McGann has become one of the most popular musicians on YouNow, with her broadcasts blending her own original songs – pop tracks in their recordings, stripped back to acoustic-guitar when broadcasting – with chatting to fans.

“When I was starting out, it was intense: I was broadcasting six hours a day just to build the fanbase,” she says. “Now it’s more live 2-3 hours a day: a couple of hours in the morning then one in the afternoon. It’s flexible: if I’m in the studio or writing, I may do less broadcasts.”

YouNow remains McGann’s lead platform, although she also has a presence on other social networks: 14,600 followers on Twitter and 10,000 on Instagram; 34,000 subscribers on YouTube; and nearly 8,000 fans on Facebook.

One of the key aspects to YouNow is its tips economy, where viewers can donate to the channel they’re watching or – if they’re really keen – pay a monthly $4.99 subscription fee that gives them ‘Super Chat’ privileges and a badge to display their fandom.

McGann has 98 of those subscribers at the time of writing, but what’s driving her business more are the tips from viewers.

“I like to call it ‘online busking’. The content is totally free to watch for the viewer, with no ads, and I don’t do any brand sponsorships. Then the tipping side of it is completely optional: if people enjoy a song, they can choose to pay a tip,” she says.

“It’s been great seeing that willingness of people who are watching to decide to support me financially. It gives me more faith in the music I’m making. It’s not really being taken full advantage of by many other artists in the music industry: it’s almost like a secret weapon in a way.”

Putting in the hours on YouNow has taught McGann what fans want on the platform. Her regular viewers are keen on original songs rather than covers, for example, while her broadcasts make room for off-the-cuff interactions – such as singing Happy Birthday if a fan is celebrating their birthday that day.

McGann has also broadcast more-structured shows, such as songwriting-focused broadcasts where guests share their tips on writing, while also performing songs. She has also collaborated with other YouNow musicians, such as The Dapper Rapper.

“There’s a large community feel between broadcasters, whether they’re musicians or not,” she says. “Like YouTube, there’s definitely a community where people help each other. There’s less drama than YouTube though!”

One of McGann’s ambitions for 2019 is to expand her team – currently it’s her and manager James Plester – and translate her YouNow audience into more ticket sales and music streams / sales on other platforms. She was recently awarded a grant by British industry body the BPI’s Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) to fund a tour of the US later this year, for example.

She has also been keeping an eye on YouNow data to see where pockets of fans are collected. For example, her following in Greece “skyrocketed” in 2018, buoyed by a series of YouTube videos where she tried Greek snacks. Concerts there are now a possibility too.

Livestreaming is 90% of McGann’s income, though: the other 10% comes from a mix of PRS payouts, streaming services, YouTube and Patreon, as well as concerts. On the latter front, she tends to play a few shows a year rather than plan lengthy tours. “The audience is so spread out over the world, but if we do one or two concerts a year, people fly in for them,” she says.

McGann’s audience on audio music-streaming platforms is still small: fewer than 4,000 monthly listeners on Spotify at the time of writing. Rather than a reason to write her off, this is what makes her story so interesting: that her audience really has grown mainly on YouNow so far, outside the radar of the regular music industry.

McGann sees YouNow as part of her wider interest in experimenting with technology to help her reach new listeners and viewers. She recently released a ‘VR180’ music video encouraging fans to pan left and right to see behind the scenes, for example.

Like other artists in the streaming era, McGann is also figuring out her strategy for releasing music. In 2017 she raised £21k on Kickstarter to make her debut album ‘B.R.A.V.E.’ which was made available physically and digitally.

“Since then it has been singles, more or less. Going forward the plan is to drop a new single every two months, leading up to an EP. An album is a lot of content to offer people these days,” she says.

“We will try different things: sometimes a lyric video, for example, or trying new tech like VR180. We want to try something a little bit different every time, feeling out the trends and finding out what’s going to work for us and the audience we already have. I’d love to do a concert in VR…”

YouNow will remain her lead platform. “We have a very good relationship with them: the lines of communication have always been really open, and they’ve opened a lot of doors for us in the US,” she says.

“I feel a sense of allegiance to them, especially because the platform is good! The team there seem very innovative: they were the first to bring in the whole tipping system for broadcasters. And livestreaming has been the enabler to allow me to be creative and try different things.” - MusicAlly

British singer-songwriter, musician and online live-streamer on broadcasting platform YouTube, Emma McGann is bringing her bold, colossal anthems of fearless and new-pop brilliance to Athens, in her first ever live show in Greece, this Thursday, 16th of May, 2019.

Audiences worldwide may know Emma from her YouTube series ‘British Girl Tries Greek Food’. The idea Emma says came from her friend Eleni. “She sent me some Greek snacks to try a couple of years ago and mentioned that she’d love to see my reaction to snacks from her country and so I filmed the entire thing and posted it on YouTube. I loved the whole concept of sharing my thoughts on food I’d never tried before and begun making more and more videos on the food of Greece.”

The British YouTuber’s favourite food is Souvlakia, which she hadn’t tried before the series. “It was gorgeous! But I’m told souvlaki we get here in the UK tastes nothing like the real thing. I wanna taste the real deal so it’ll be the first thing I eat when I get to Athens! Snack-wise I’m a big fan of Papadopoulos snacks – Caprice wafers are amazing.”

Being a fan of Greek food, Emma also tried making Baklava once, as she has a bit of a sweet tooth and to her surprise, it turned out great and she demolished it all!

“I’ve learned quite a few new Greek words from the viewers who watch my videos. What I love about my viewers in Greece is that they’re so hospitable – even in the YouTube comments! They always have great recommendations and will help me learn new things. One person taught me the meaning of ‘meraki’ – meaning to put everything into what you love to do, whatever your passion is. For me, it’s music and good food.”

Emma has always wanted to visit Greece and to perform in Athens on her first trip is very exciting, she says. ”I’m hoping we can come back more after the first show and travel further afield too! Thessaloniki is another place where fans have asked I perform. So I’m hoping to do that in the future.”

While in Athens, Emma notes that she is really looking forward to seeing the Acropolis, hopefully, do some island hopping, definitely eat as much food as she can and she’s also looking forward to meeting fans at the show.

“I bring a big pop sound to my live shows – I like to uplift people, get them dancing. The show is anthemic, full of energy… so come prepared to dance. I’ll also be performing my new single ‘Misfits’ for the first time at the show.” - Greek City Times

Emma McGann is one of the first artists to create and launch her own Amazon Alexa skill. It all started when Emma was livestreaming on YouNow. When she asked her smartspeaker to turn on the lights, the smartspeakers in her fans’ homes responded! At Midem, we chatted with Emma and her manager James Plester about how this lightbulb moment led to an Alexa skill that makes it more fun and easy for her fans to listen and engage. Ask Alexa to “enable skill Emma Backstage” to check it out.



Music Tectonics is at Midem! Podcast host Dmitri Vietze is recording interviews with Midemlab competitors and international music tech superstars, on the spot in Cannes. Stay tuned for a wave of #MidemTectonics coverage. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Weekly episodes include news roundups, interviews with music tech movers & shakers, and more. - Music Tectonics

Emma McGann is an artist, singer/songwriter and live streamer. She uses streaming to interact with her audience on a daily basis and involve them in all aspects of her music and songwriting, music videos and live shows. The access team wanted to find out how using live streaming has helped her music career.

What made you promote your music purely through livestreaming?

At an early stage I was touring up and down the UK trying to reach more people by doing school shows. I was trying to add an educational aspect to my music and we were reaching a lot of people... but nothing in comparison to what a livestreamer can bring. After a week of touring I did one livestream one evening, just in the back of the tour bus, and we pulled in more interaction and views in one half hour live stream than a week of touring. From then on I decided to chase that avenue and I found it to be a really unique and cool way to interact with the audience and get them invested in you as a person. I pride myself on opening up as a human being and breaking down that traditional wall between the artist and the fan. That's what I'm all about.

What platform do you use?

I started livestreaming four years ago on a platform called YouNow which is its own independent platform. It was just its own thing, very much like Twitch and it had it's own community. I got in at the early stages and became a part of the community. A few years later I started seeing Facebook, Instagram opening up their platforms for the live format - and that really validated what I'd been doing. Live content is in demand. The best thing about YouNow is the audience have the option to tip you, so it's kind of like online busking. It's a very interesting platform and unlike anything you've seen on social media. - Access to Music

It's always worth taking a moment to remember that there are more ways to emerge musically than touring around tiny clubs in a deathtrap of a van along with your instruments and amps. Pop Singer-songwriter, Emma McGann has a first class degree in Music Composition, crowdfunds her work via Patreon, has given a TEDx Talk on her songwriting, video live streams with her fans and supporters - the list of ways she engages with her audience and self-publishes goes on. These may not be methods that many would traditionally associate with getting noticed as a new musician but for Emma, it has won her fans and acclaim from Nancy Sinatra and Kylie Minogue among others. Emma's crowdfunded album 'B.R.A.V.E.' is out now. - Fred Perry Subculture

Are live broadcasts over the internet the new fast-track to fame? And why are they so big in China?

Manuela Saragosa meets two of this new breed of internet celebrity: Emma McGann is a musician who performs her songs on the YouNow site. Meanwhile over on the Twitch platform, the popular video gamer known as Spamfish is in real life Tim Mines, an unemployed man who discovered that his favourite past-time could actually earn him a decent living.

In China, livestreaming is already a $3 billion business, and still growing fast. We hear from Scott Zhang, founding partner of PurpleSky, which owns one of the country's biggest livestreaming apps, known as Inke. So could it catch on in the West? We ask Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer. - BBC Business Daily, World Service (Radio)

The winners of the latest YouTube NextUp competition have been announced, and will start their workshops on 22 May.

NextUp offers hand-picked creators the opportunity to better their channels by participating in a Creator Camp, as well as a voucher for £1,750 with which they can buy equipment they may want or need. After the camp is over, YouTube offers continued support to the graduates for at least three months with their partnership services. The camp helps the creators learn what they need to improve in terms of production values, teaches them about camera techniques and when and how to use them, and involves them in tasks that help them think about their audience and how they can grow their channels.

Among the previous graduates of YouTube’s now-five-years-old programme are well-known names like Jack Howard, Lex Croucher, Jamie Spicer-Lewis, Jenny Bingham, and Lucy Moon. - Ten Eighty Magazine (2017)

A struggling singer has become an online popstar and even beaten George Ezra in the iTunes chart after recording a song in her bedroom about her pet pugs.
Emma McGann, 25, from Bedworth, Warwickshire, started singing in talent shows and open mic nights ten years ago but failed to attract the attention of record companies.
She decided to ditch live gigs last October, and instead started performing her songs on the internet.

She now reaches more than 70,000 fans around the world and even managed to reach number 14 in the iTunes chart in June with her debut song 'You Mess Me Up'

At its peak, the song was above George Ezra's 'Listen To The Man', and only narrowly beaten by Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud'.
Miss McGann now earns an average of £2,000-a-month from performing live-streaming gigs from her bedroom, using live-streaming video chat website YouNow.

'When I heard about the site I thought it could be a good way of raising my profile,' she said.
'I didn't expect this kind of success when I signed up. I thought it would be like any other social networking site. I had no idea it would bring me this much success.
'I'm making between £1,500 and £2,000-a-month through the site.
'I'm in a position now where I've got so many fans I can practically arrange my own online gigs from home.
'In June I released a single called 'You Mess Me Up' which reached number 14 in the iTunes chart. I was in between Ed Sheeran and George Ezra. I couldn't believe it.

'I've always written and performed in the pop style and my audience is quite young, mostly teenagers. It's split pretty evenly between boys and girls from what I can tell.
'I perform in a home studio which used to be a study. When things started to take off I had a soundproof booth put in so I didn't disturb the neighbours.
'I want to move into the mainstream music industry. I haven't been approached by any record companies yet but I would really love to get a deal.
'I broadcast once or twice a day and money that I'm making is enough to cover my bills and then some.
'The reality is I'm sitting and performing to a camera but the people who are interacting with you on there make you forget about the online environment and it's a very social experience.'
Miss McGann also produces her own music videos with the help of her partner James Plester, 26, a sound engineer.
He said: 'The main thing for me is connecting to people..
'The fact that Emma can now go live at any time of the day and have fans across the world listening in - and many of them are just eating their breakfast - is just incredible.' - Daily Mail, (2015)

A struggling singer has become an internet pop star and broken into the top 20 of the UK Charts by performing across the world - from her BEDROOM.

Emma McGann, 25, started singing in talent shows and open mic nights ten years ago but failed to attract the attention of record companies.

Incredibly, she now has more than 70,000 fans around the world and reached number 14 in the UK Charts in June with her debut hit You Mess Me Up.

"I had no idea it would bring me this much success. I'm making between £1,500 and £2,000-a-month through the site. I'm in a position now where I've got so many fans I can practically arrange my own online gigs from home.

"In June I released a single called You Mess Me Up which reached number 14 in the iTunes chart. I was in between Ed Sheeran and George Ezra. I couldn't believe it."

Speaking about her writing style, she explained: "I've always written and performed in the pop style and my audience is quite young, mostly teenagers. It's split pretty evenly between boys and girls from what I can tell. - Daily Mirror, (2015)

StudyVox FM award winner Emma McGann was named Band of the Month for June by BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. The Coventry University music composition student has had an eventful few years as she has set up her own music night and met Kylie Minogue at The StudyVox Bursary Awards in February. Emma has also just released her debut album ‘Start The Show’.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire caught up with Emma to ask her a few questions...

How did you get in to music?

I've always played really. I taught myself guitar and wrote songs from as far back as I can remember. Guitar's my first instrument but I dabble in others... drums being a favourite! Eventually I decided to play around some live music nights around Coventry which people seemed to really enjoy and it sort of took off from there.

What have been your musical highlights so far?

Performing to Kylie tops the list of course. Surreal like you would not believe! And as for winning a music award, I'd never won a thing in my life, if you don't include the odd pub quiz.

Tell us a bit about your debut album

It's due to be released in Summer 2010. Very excited about it all! It's entitled Start the Show, mostly pop and indie tracks but I squeezed a couple of acoustic goodies in there too! Really this is the first music project I've taken seriously. The reaction we had from people after listening to the tracks in their early stages motivated us to put the album together. I couldn't have done it without everyone involved in the project and the support I've had from family and friends. Do keep an ear out and grab yourselves a copy.

What are your plans for the rest of 2010?

Apart from the album I'd love to get gigging properly again in the summer if I find the time! I've been so busy with uni and the album that I miss getting outside of Coventry and performing in new places! Watch this space for the new album/website/gigs.

To find out more about Emma McGann, visit her official website by clicking on the link below: - Studyvox Echo

COVENTRY music student Emma McGann had pop princess Kylie bopping as she collected a prestigious award.

Songwriter Emma McGann, met the pint-sized singer after scooping the Studyvox FM Music prize.

And the former Neighbours' sweetheart, who has performed in front of millions since shooting to pop megastardom, couldn't resist showing off her dance moves when Emma took to the stage.

The 19-year-old, of Whitefriars Street, Coventry, said: "It was unbelievable meeting Kylie. This time last week I had no idea I would be meeting her.

"It was really strange. I was really nervous at first but once we had met her, it calmed everyone's nerves and we realised that she was really nice.

"It is great the judges listened to our stuff on the website and then handpicked us. That's a good feeling."

Studyvox Foundation, which provides bursary support to undergraduates to help them with tuition fees, has launched its online student radio station, Studyvox FM, which plays only music produced by students, and a new social networking website.

Through the station, Emma - who's in her first year at Coventry University - uploaded some of her material, which was played on air and then picked by the judges.

They were chosen after receiving the most requests through the Studyvox website.

Kylie, who became a patron of the charity earlier this year, said: "Music has been an enormous part of my life and I'm especially proud to present the music award, which offers an important lifeline for student bands."

Emma, whose family home is in Binley, usually performs at acoustic sets at the Phoenix pub in Gosford Street, Coventry, with boyfriend James Plester.

After the ceremony, he joined her on stage with two other friends to perform some of Emma's songs in front of other students and the Australian songstress.

Emma added: "I had sent some of our stuff to Kylie and her record company for them to listen to and they really liked the production on it, which was good.

"Kylie said she really liked our music, and then at the end she came out to listen to us play and she was dancing away. It was really encouraging.

"In the future, after I graduate, I would really like to go into some kind of career in the music industry, so this award is definitely a good thing to put on your CV."

Four other students who entered the competition and submitted their material to the Studyvox radio station were chosen to receive bursaries of pounds 10,000 and pounds 2,000 to help with their study fees. - Coventry Telegraph

Our Band of the Month for June is Coventry singer-songwriter Emma McGann.
The Coventry University music composition student has had an eventful few years; from setting up a music night to meeting Kylie Minogue.
Apart from her own gigs, you can see Emma every Monday night at the Phoenix in Coventry when she hosts an acoustic/open mic night.
She was recently awarded the StudyVoxFM Music Award by Kylie and will release her debut album this summer.
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire caught up with Emma to ask her a few questions...
How did you get in to music?
I've always played really. I taught myself guitar and wrote songs from as far back as I can remember. Guitar's my first instrument but I dabble in others... drums being a favourite! Eventually I decided to play around some live music nights around Coventry which people seemed to really enjoy and it sort of took off from there.
What have been your musical highlights so far?
Performing to Kylie tops the list of course. Surreal like you would not believe! And as for winning a music award, I'd never won a thing in my life, if you don't include the odd pub quiz.
Tell us a bit about your debut album
It's due to be released in Summer 2010. Very excited about it all! It's entitled Start the Show, mostly pop and indie tracks but I squeezed a couple of acoustic goodies in there too! Really this is the first music project I've taken seriously. The reaction we had from people after listening to the tracks in their early stages motivated us to put the album together. I couldn't have done it without everyone involved in the project and the support I've had from family and friends. Do keep an ear out and grab yourselves a copy.
What are your plans for the rest of 2010?
Apart from the album I'd love to get gigging properly again in the summer if I find the time! I've been so busy with uni and the album that I miss getting outside of Coventry and performing in new places! Watch this space for the new album/website/gigs. - Telegraph

Our Band of the Month for June is Coventry singer-songwriter Emma McGann.
The Coventry University music composition student has had an eventful few years; from setting up a music night to meeting Kylie Minogue.
Apart from her own gigs, you can see Emma every Monday night at the Phoenix in Coventry when she hosts an acoustic/open mic night.
She was recently awarded the StudyVoxFM Music Award by Kylie and will release her debut album this summer.
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire caught up with Emma to ask her a few questions...
How did you get in to music?
I've always played really. I taught myself guitar and wrote songs from as far back as I can remember. Guitar's my first instrument but I dabble in others... drums being a favourite! Eventually I decided to play around some live music nights around Coventry which people seemed to really enjoy and it sort of took off from there.
What have been your musical highlights so far?
Performing to Kylie tops the list of course. Surreal like you would not believe! And as for winning a music award, I'd never won a thing in my life, if you don't include the odd pub quiz.
Tell us a bit about your debut album
It's due to be released in Summer 2010. Very excited about it all! It's entitled Start the Show, mostly pop and indie tracks but I squeezed a couple of acoustic goodies in there too! Really this is the first music project I've taken seriously. The reaction we had from people after listening to the tracks in their early stages motivated us to put the album together. I couldn't have done it without everyone involved in the project and the support I've had from family and friends. Do keep an ear out and grab yourselves a copy.
What are your plans for the rest of 2010?
Apart from the album I'd love to get gigging properly again in the summer if I find the time! I've been so busy with uni and the album that I miss getting outside of Coventry and performing in new places! Watch this space for the new album/website/gigs. - BBC

LAST week Coventry ‘acoustic night’ troubadour Emma McGann released her very first CD.

Despite having a constant presence on the local acoustic scene, the CD is a full band recording, and a huge departure from the Emma we all know and love.

But hang on, that’s no way a criticism, on the contrary, some acoustic-based artist could suffer making the crossover to full band mode.

Emma has no such problems, a great song is a great song, whether it’s with just guitar or with half the contents of your local music store, but why the departure?

“I’ll never ditch the acoustic,” reveals Emma.

“I love it too much. It’s what launched me into all this after all!

“But we wanted to create a concept album based around the pop genre, something bubbly and commercial that you can really dance to.

“We’ve enjoyed it so much and have had encouragement from the right people that there’s no doubt we’ll do it again.”

The album, Start The Show, was launched at The Phoenix on July 12, by all accounts the night was a huge success, with over 70 CDs being sold on the night and the rest selling out over the next few days.

“It was an amazing night, support acts Carly Ryder and the Polar Rays both played fantastically,” said Emma.

“We had good feedback about the buffet too! Big thanks to the glitter girls who were doing Emma McGann, Carly Ryder and Polar Rays glitter tattoos! It felt amazing to play the whole album full band, so a big thank you to Alex Hart, Rich Overton and James Plester (who produced and co-wrote some of the CD).

“More full band gigs are in the pipeline and I am so pleased with the turn out!

“I’m ever so grateful for everyone’s support and hope they all enjoyed the show and the album!”

A few weeks ago Emma hit the local headlines when she rubbed shoulders with Pop Princess Kylie Minogue.

“I won Musician of the Year Award for an online radio station and student foundation called Studyvox, of which Kylie is the proud patron.

“It was unreal; one minute I’m uploading my tracks to an online radio station, the next I’m being whisked off to Oxford to meet Ms Minogue herself!

“Meeting Kylie was phenomenal. She’s the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen. So modest, and easy to talk to. She requested to meet me and the band before the awards ceremony and complimented us on the tracks she’d already heard, encouraging us not to stop there.”

The album really touches the spot, title track Start Of The Show grabs your hand and takes you on a musical journey that rocks away in style. (That’s not Rock with a capital ‘R’ by the way; no Emma hasn’t gone all heavy metal).

It’s a superb track and I defy you to listen to it without having the chorus going around in your head the rest of the day.

Unless of course you then listen to Fall Into Me, and the chances are that will also occupy the grey matter for a considerable length of time.

This CD is jammed with clever tracks like Little Hearts and Cobwebs, indeed the album is an offering to the god of the catchy chorus and to the Lord of clever songwriting. Get your copy at www.myspace.com/xemmaxacousticx.
- Coventry Telegraph

SUPERSTAR Kylie Minogue got the village of East Hendred spinning around today when she visited a local charity.

The 41-year-old pop singer dropped into the headquarters of the Studyvox Foundation, in Old Estate Yard.

Dressed in black, the Australian songstress, who has sold more than 60 million records, handed out £16,000 to students to help with their study fees.

The excited recipients, who were picked at random from the student social networking site Studyvox, got to chat to the singer and get her autograph.

Miss Minogue, who is patron of the charity, said: “I’m very proud to be here and it’s a very exciting day for all of us.

“We’ve all been students and all know what difficulties they face.

“Thanks to these generous bursaries it will be a great relief from the financial stresses and pressures.”

Film studies student Jessie Gurr, 22, picked up the top £10,000 prize.

The London Metropolitan University student said: “Kylie really put me at ease and was so nice. We met her before the ceremony and she asked us what we study.

“She is absolutely beautiful in real life, and very tiny.

“The money means so much to me, especially as I’ve never won so much as a box of chocolates in a raffle.”

Political Science student Fern Tomlinson, 19, received £2,000 towards her Birmingham University fees.

She said: “This has been so surreal and incredibly exciting.

“It was fantastic meeting Kylie. I’m a massive fan of her music and loved her when she was in Dr Who.”

Miss Minogue also presented a music award to the band with the most requests on the Studyvox website.

She said: “Music has been an enormous part of my life and I’m especially proud to present the music award, which offers an important lifeline for student bands.”

Emma McGann, 19, lead singer with the as-yet unnamed band, said: “It was unbelievable meeting Kylie. This time last week I had no idea I would be meeting the Queen of Pop.”

Miss Minogue became involved with the charity through her friendship with chief executive Kevin Martin.

During the ceremony she asked trustee Jack Lowman for £10, after he welched on a bet he lost to Miss Minogue during a game of pool at the headquarters in December.

He said: “It’s incredible having a world superstar like Kylie visit this small village, and we’re incredibly grateful for her appearance.” - Oxford Mail

Pop singer Kylie Minogue was guest of honour in a small Oxfordshire village to hand out awards.
The star, who is patron of the StudyVox student bursary charity, posed for photographs and chatted to winners at its headquarters in East Hendred.
Telling fans she was "very proud" to be the charity's patron, the 41-year-old was then entertained by student Emma McGann, 19, who scooped a music award.
A friend of the star set up the student support charity three years ago.
The Australian singer stood at the front of the crowd to listen to the student perform.
Ms McGann said: "Surreal is the word to describe it, but at the same time it was amazing.
"I didn't expect Kylie to come out and to stand there dancing away to our track. It looked like she was really enjoying it."
Ms Minogue spoke with the four students who won financial bursary awards after registering with the StudyVox social-networking site and winning a raffle online. - BBC News