Byline: Liz Thomas Showbusiness Reporter
SO far, her greatest showbusiness success had been winning [pounds sterling]45 in the Undiscovered Youth Talent Contest at the Subscription Rooms, Stroud.
But today, 19-year-old Mary Jess Leaverland is China's answer to Leona Lewis.
The British exchange student won Jiangsu province's equivalent of The X Factor by singing in Mandarin.
And although there are no million-pound record deals in the offing, she is discovering what life is like as a superstar, with autograph hunters regularly mobbing her in the street.
'It is really strange, but nice,' said the girl from Linden, Gloucestershire.
wholesale colthing'It was the most exciting thing I have done in my life.' Mary Jess won first place on the talent show Min Xing Chang Fan Tian, which translates as I Want to Sing to the Stars.
She performed Yue Guang Ai Ren (Moonlight Lovers), theme tune to the hit film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Her reward was a cash prize of around [pounds sterling]3,000, as well as a trophy and a CD recording of herself.
Mary Jess, who is fluent in Mandarin and Italian, is taking a degree in Chinese and music at Sheffield University and had to spend a year in Jiangsu province, in the east of the country, as part of the course.
She took part in a small singing competition last year and was spotted by producers of Min Xing Chang Fan Tian, who were so impressed by her performance that they invited her to audition.
The series follows a similar format to Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor, and has a judging panel of three experts.
It broadcasts only in the Jiangsu region, which has a population of 70million, with the judges drawn from local record executives and songwriters.
Clip in human hair extensionsTo reach the final she sang the Puccini aria O Mio Babbino Caro before reprising Sarah Brightman's Time To Say Goodbye, which won her the 'best in show' title at Stroud in January 2008.
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Although the [pounds sterling]3,000 prize money pales into significance beside the sums involved in The X Factor, it was still very welcome.
'Without it I wouldn't have been able to come home for Christmas because I wouldn't have been able to afford the flight and I was really missing my family,' said Mary Jess, who has a 17-year-old sister, Chez.
For obvious reasons, her mother Liz was unable to watch her triumph.
'I would have loved to be there but I saw some of the videos and seeing Mary Jess in the limousine and on the red carpet was amazing,' she said.
'I'm just so proud of her and hope she can continue in the industry.'
CAPTION(S):
And the winner is... Mary Jess with two of her fellow finalists in the show filmed last year
Home on holiday: The prize money paid for her flight
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