23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Golden Guitar glory for rising star
New Zealand's next country music sensation may have been unearthed in Christchurch.
St Mark's School year 7 pupil Cleo Fitzgerald, 11, recently took to the stage in Gore for the annual Golden Guitar Awards, where she won the junior vocal solo and junior gospel categories and was crowned the overall junior gold guitar winner.
'It didn't feel real, did it?' her mum, Ella Fitzgerald, asked her daughter.
'It didn't, no,' Cleo said.
'There's all that adrenaline and wondering 'am I going to win? Am I going to lose?' When you finally get called up it's like, wow.'
Adding to the occasion, this year marked the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's biggest country music festival.
The awards were Cleo's first major singing competition. Encouraged by vocal coach Arlie McCormick, she decided to audition, and the family headed to Gore with no expectations.
Cleo, who lives in Lyttelton, auditioned with about 20 others in the country rock, gospel and vocal solo categories and advanced to the finals in all three.
'Even that in itself, we were pretty amazed by. We were jumping up and down,' Ella said.
The next day, Cleo performed in front of more than 500 people – her largest ever audience.
'It was pretty terrifying for her, but also so much fun. She's born to be on stage,' Ella said.
Cleo sang My Jesus by Anne Wilson in the gospel category and Miley Cyrus' The Climb for her vocal solo – the performance that won her the overall junior title.
She was also second in the country rock category for her rendition of Hold My Horses by Madeline Edwards.
Her overall win also earned Cleo an invitation to perform and compete at the Golden Guitar Awards in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia's country music capital, in January. The city's annual country music festival attracts more than 40,000 people.
The trip will cost about $3500, and Cleo and her family are now fundraising to get her there.
'If we raise enough money, I'm going to be so excited,' Cleo said.
Along with her title, Cleo also received a Martin guitar, a microphone from Strawberry Sound, $500, a year's honorary membership at the Gore Country Music Club, and $100 for each category she won.
Cleo has been singing since she could talk and has not stopped.
Whether she is walking around the house, in the kitchen or doing homework, the music follows her.
'We often say our house is like a musical,' Ella said.
When she was five, Cleo sang A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman in front of a crowd. That is when Ella knew she had something special.
Today, Cleo listens to everything from country and jazz to pop and musical theatre. Her favourite artist is Sabrina Carpenter.
She is also keeping busy off the competition stage. Cleo will be playing Marty the Zebra in her school's production of Madagascar , and will be performing her own show, and taking part in Shay Horay's Palava at the Lyttelton Arts Festival.
'The main thing is keeping it fun for her. We're just concentrating on that and if she gets too tired we can pull back,' Ella said.
Cleo has to serve a stand down period from competing in the Golden Guitar Awards until she turns 13 and is eligible for the intermediate section. In the meantime, she will return next year to perform and present trophies to the new winners.
