Laela Heidt, a 16-year-old Trail, B.C. musician, singer and songwriter has made the top 20 in a CBC national competition to identify Canada's best new musical talent and hopes to move further along on Sunday, Mar. 3.
Heidt's song Love Blind is in the running in the Searchlight competition, one of more than 50 tracks the songwriter has produced.
In Oct. 2012, a talent scout from Atlanta, GA saw a YouTube video Heidt posted against her mother's wishes. The scout was impressed with the talent of the then 15-year-old and flew to Castlegar to meet her and her family. He then arranged a trip to Los Angeles, CA and set up meetings with various record labels.
Playing piano by ear since the age of three, music has been an integral part of Heidt's life. A four-track CD, produced in the USA, will soon be released.
Voting for the final four from B.C. ends Sunday, Mar. 3, 2013 at midnight ET.
Only four artists from B.C. will move onward in the competition and Heidt is encouraging Kootenay residents to vote daily at: http://music.cbc.ca/#/Searchlight-Radio-West.