We chat to 'DSB' stars Singer Station

Five's colourful and camp new reality series Don't Stop Believing launched on Sunday night with a bang. All six groups won praise from the judges, but Glasgow-based Singer Station won over the hearts of viewers with their moving Glee-esque rendition of Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colours'. We caught up with the collective's founder Louise McFarlane to find out more about how the group came together.

How are you feeling about the group's victory on Sunday? Have your feet touched the ground yet?
"I am just over the moon. I haven't been able to sleep since. We seriously never thought we would win it. When we saw the competition that was against us, we all just thought, 'wow, these guys are amazing. They all look amazing. They sound amazing'. We just looked at ourselves and were surprised that they even picked us and put us on the show in the first place. We were just happy for the experience. We never thought we'd get a wildcard, never thought we would win. Not for a second."

I know you'll be biased, but were you impressed with their performance? It is the first time that they've been on live TV, so they must have been nervous.
"I asked them to go out there and give it their all. I asked them to go out there and enjoy it. And that's what they did. I am so proud of them all. They did what I asked and more. I watched but there was a camera on me for the whole performance. I cried the whole time! And it was that crying where you don't even close your eyelids. The camera went to the guy next to me, but he was crying throughout the whole thing as well. I was just so proud that they gave it everything. You can see in their faces that they mean everything they sing. They are normal kids. There are no auditions for Singer Station. They are just kids who want a bit of confidence and enjoy singing for the fun of it. I was totally over the moon."

Why did you pick the track 'True Colours'?
"I opened the school three years ago and that was the very first song we taught the kids. I think the words in the song have a great meaning for the kids. I believe if you have a confidence in life, that is everything. And for these guys, singing gives them that confidence. I thought the lyrics were appropriate for the kids because it is about believing in yourself. It's about knowing that it's what's inside that counts."

Can you tell us a bit about how Singer Station started?
"The school is for 3 to 18-year-olds. It's been running for three years. Me and my husband used to just do pub gigs and things like that at weekends. It was always my dream to open my own school as a kid, so I finally got around to doing it three years ago. The only requirement is that everyone treats everyone else with respect and that the kids believe in themselves. Self-confidence is one of the main things we work on. I just opened it because a lot of things like this cost a lot of money these days and there are term fees or whatever. We work with kids who can't afford it and some kids who come in and say that their mum and dad can't pay the weekly sub. We let those kids through the door for nothing, because we believe singing shouldn't be a privileged hobby. It should be open to anyone."

How do you fund the school?
"Just now we do charge for the kids when they can afford it, but there are overheads with the other teachers and the hall fees. We bought an old derelict building recently, which is totally run down, but the kids are out and about now trying to raise funds to get that up and running. We've also sent off all the forms to try to register Singer Station as a charity. If we can get that then we will be able to open our doors to everyone. At the moment, we can't afford to do that."

What do you want to get out of the competition?
"I hope they can inspire other kids who have wanted to sing but might have given up. They just really enjoy singing with their friends and that's what it should be about. We've had a lot more interest and phonecalls thanks to Glee. Recently there's a couple of kids who have come to us with autism, plus we have lots of kids coming to us with medical needs. It's just different kids from different backgrounds. We just want to give everyone opportunities."

What did you think to the other groups on Sunday night?
"They were amazing. Their vocals were tight. The choreography was amazing. Singer Station is not a dance school. We are more about feeling and creativity, so we are basically just a singing school. We've never been anything to do with dance and it's not something that we know. But, yeah, those other groups were amazing. I just had to keep reminding the kids all the way through that they were amazing as well and that they were there for a reason."

Did you meet the judges and Emma after the show?
"Oh yes! Emma Bunton came out at the end and met them all. She gave them all a hug. Anastacia met them all and she was absolutely beautiful. She said that she was blown away by the kids and that she loved what we'd done. They were all totally lovely. It was nice that the judges gave them constructive criticism as well, because everyone needs that and it can help boost your confidence."

Don't Stop Believing continues on Sunday at 7pm on Five

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