'Saxi' singer-songwriter finalist in LA awards

Pop singer Anna 'Saxi' Saxton, from Cambridge, is a finalist in the Los Angeles Music Awards. Photo / Nick Reed

Anna Saxton has been nominated for Female Pop Star of the Year.

As a kid Anna Saxton loved singing but she was so shy she would sing under the kitchen table or when nobody was looking.

As she grew older she grew more confidence and by 14, was writing her own songs.

And now the talented 21-year-old Cambridge woman is up against the best in the business after being nominated for Female Pop Star of the year at the Los Angeles Music Awards.

The awards are aimed at exposing up-and-coming singers who are not associated with any label. Artists submit their work before each category is whittled down to 10 finalists.

Miss Saxton, who goes by the name "Saxi", hoped that this was only the beginning of her fledging music career.

"I want to be the next superstar to come out of New Zealand, definitely, so I've been working really, really hard over the last six years to try and make that happen."

And she's accomplished a lot.

She's just released her new single, Lipstick, which was produced by Grammy-nominated US producer Chris Sernel, and she has been tutored by American vocal coach John Henny. She met the industry figures through her Auckland vocal coach, Stuart Clarke.

But her path to Hollywood was instigated by her brother, Jarrod.

"I started writing my own songs when I was about 14 but I never really did anything with them until I was 16 and I wrote a song which I thought was relatively okay and I sang it to my brother. At the time he was working part-time and he really, really liked my song. I came home from school one day and he told me he had booked and paid for studio time."

Next thing she knows, she's in Hamilton's Porch Studio recording the song, Voodoo.

"That's when I really got the industry bug and thought 'I really, really love this'."

Two weeks later she was offered a publishing deal for the song and stuck with the record company for two years before going independent. From then she took time to develop her "artistic side" or "figuring out where you fit in the industry and what music you should be doing".

Then Mr Clarke helped develop her style, which she describes as pop with a touch of rock.

The awards are being held on Thursday night.Her mother and manager, Denise, will be there, along with her aunty and her cousin.

See @saxi on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.