Above: Paris Maggs is to record songs for the soundtrack of the Barbie Diaries movie.
By Rebecca Fraser
PARIS Maggs is a real life Barbie girl.
The talented Berwick teenager got the thrill of her life last week when she was told on live television that she had been selected as one of four young singers to head up a new Australian pop band The Charmz.
The selftaught singer will fly to Sydney on Monday to record an album under the guidance of former Australian Idol singer and pop star RickiLee.
The album, set for national release in the JuneJuly school holidays, coincides with the launch of The Barbie Diaries movie and Paris will be recording original songs from the film’s soundtrack.
Only weeks ago the Berwick Secondary College student entered a nationwide competition run by Mattel and Nickelodeon, which were searching for four singers aged eight to 14.
Until Tuesday evening Paris was under the impression that she had only made the top 15.
Her family had to keep the news under wraps so when the Nickelodeon Channel rang to give her the news live on pay television it came out of the blue.
Her father, Gary Maggs, said he could not believe that his daughter had achieved her goal in such a short time.
“Her goal was to have a recording contract by age of 13. Two weeks after her 13th birthday she did,” he said.
“When she came to me I said to her are you sure you have not got the numbers around the wrong way because you are like 12 and a half years old.
“She met her goal within six months of setting the target. She had never been in a studio and there was nothing in the wind to suggest this was going to happen,” he said.
Paris spotted the competition on the Internet just days before entries closed. She took some time off school to record her demo tape and her father raced to Mattel’s head office in Richmond and delivered the tape personally.
Music runs in the Maggs family with father Gary a keen singer and older sister Chloe making it through to the top 100 of Australian Idol and top 30 in the Channel 10 series XFactor.
Paris is hoping this is the break she needs to forge a singing career.
She is set to receive a host of prizes as part of the competition including a new wardrobe. She will also go on a promotional tour for the album.
