Jessica Robinson is an English singer and actress. Robinson is most noted for her participation in the 2010 BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 talent-search Over the Rainbow

Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series)

Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series which aired on BBC One from March to May 2010. It documents the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy in the forthcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a...

.

Background

Robinson lives with her parents and brother in Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

.

As a youth Robinson performed as part of the Middlesbrough Youth Theatre

Middlesbrough Youth Theatre

Middlesbrough Youth Theatre is an umbrella company consisting of Middlesbrough Junior Theatre, earlier known as MLT Juniors , together with a 'Kidstage' group of 7- to 10-year-olds, and an older 'Youth Theatre' of 17- to 25-year-olds....

 company and in 2006 also went on to compete the kids version of Stars in Their Eyes

Stars In Their Eyes

Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that ran on Saturdays nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars...

where she performed as the Australian actress/singer Natalie Imbruglia

Natalie Imbruglia

Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...

. Jessica took part in heat two which also featured the eventual series winner, 9 year old Christopher Napier, performing as George Formby

George Formby

George Formby, OBE , born George Hoy Booth, was a British comedy actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian. He sang light, comical songs, accompanying himself on the banjo ukulele or banjolele...

, and the 2008 Miss Dance of Great Britain competition.

Over the Rainbow

Robinson took part in Over the Rainbow, a BBC talent-search looking for an actress/singer to play Dorothy Gale

Dorothy Gale

Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...

 in Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

's production of The Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

. She advanced to the sixth week, whereupon she was voted off following a sing-off against Danielle Hope

Danielle Hope

Danielle Hope is an English actress and singer. She is the winner of the BBC talent contest Over The Rainbow and as a result is currently playing the part of Dorothy in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Wizard of Oz, which began performances in the West End at the London Palladium in...

, the show's eventual winner.

Solo performances

Solo Song
Week one (03/04/10)	"Rehab" (Amy Winehouse Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize... )
Week two (10/04/10)	"The Voice Within The Voice Within "The Voice Within" is a song written by Christina Aguilera and Glen Ballard, with production by Ballard. It was released as the fifth and final single from Aguilera's second album, Stripped on December 23, 2003. The single peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Aguilera's seventh Top 40... " (Christina Aguilera Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994... )
Week three (17/04/10)	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love Crazy Little Thing Called Love "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track featured on their 1980 album The Game, and also appears on the band's compilation album, Greatest Hits... " (Queen Queen (band) Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor... )
Week four (24/04/10)	"There You'll Be There You'll Be "There You'll Be" is a song by Faith Hill, which became a hit single in 2001. Written by Diane Warren and Alan Menken, known for his Disney film scores such as "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas" and "Tangled", it was featured on the Pearl Harbor soundtrack... " (Faith Hill Faith Hill Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S... )
Week five (01/05/10)	"Cabaret" (from Cabaret Cabaret (musical) Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions.... )
Week six (08/05/10)	"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is an English word, with 34 letters, that was in the song with the same title in the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke... " (from Mary Poppins Mary Poppins (film) Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by... )

After Over the Rainbow

Following her being voted off the show, Robinson stated that her immediate plans were to find retail work in order to fund a performing arts course. Robinson currently studies at the Arts Educational School.

Robinson was lauded for her efforts at raising Middlesbrough's profile and performed at the 2010 Middlesbrough Music Live event with The Wildcats of Kilkenny.

In August 2010 it was announced that Robinson would temporarily take over fellow Over the Rainbow alumni Stephanie Fearon

Stephanie Fearon

Stephanie Leanne Fearon is a British stage and television actress most noted for her TV appearances in the CITV show My Parents Are Aliens and the BBC talent-search Over The Rainbow....

's role in Smokey Joe's Cafe

Smokey Joe's Cafe

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller...

. Robinson performed for three nights in late August while Fearon recovered after an operation.

External links