Jasmine wins Telstra Road to Tamworth

Jasmine Rae & Mark Wells.

Jasmine Rae from Fawkner in Melbourne has won the 2008 Telstra Road to Tamworth competition with a prize package including a trip to Nashville to record an album.
Jasmine follows in the footsteps of 2007 winner Morgan Evans who has enjoyed outstanding success following his win in January last year.
Mark Wells from Merewether in Newcastle will also head to Nashville after being named winner of the Telstra Road to Tamworth Songwriters Award. "Winning over the judges with his confident and energetic performance," according to competition organisers. Mark sang two original songs, Playing With Fire and When It All Boils Down.
Jasmine also performed two original songs, Country Singer and Ain't The Same Girl.
As she accepted her award, Jasmine said it was an honour to work with "such a fantastic group of people" and thanked Telstra for their support. "I've never been out of the country before, so I'm thrilled to be going to Nashville."
The judges recognised Wells' songwriting skills in awarding him the highly sought after prize package which includes appointments with top American country music songwriters.
Almost 1,000 singers from across the nation entered the competition vying for a total prize package of $140,000. Jasmine and Mark came up against six other grand finalists who qualified for the finals series after initially winning their hometown heat.
The Grand Final was webcast live to thousands of country music enthusiasts across Australia and overseas.
Three US-based record company executive judges on-line were joined by a panel of local industry officials including Tim Daley from the Country Music Channel, Tim Holland of ABC Music, Gayle Madill from Country Update magazine and Rob Potts of Rob Potts Entertainment Edge.
Brett Riley, Executive Director, Telstra Country Wide Eastern Region, said the competition provided a way for aspiring country music artists to live out their musical dreams.
"The competition continues to grow each year and the strength of talent being uncovered is a credit to the Australian country music scene. We are so thrilled to be able to offer such a wonderful opportunity to help launch Jasmine and Mark's career through an unprecedented association with a national and global network of industry partners and experts," he said.