Singer Sophie is hot on the heels of chart-topping star Sam Smith

St Pancras Old Church in London hosted chart-topper Sam Smith back in 2013 before he broke through into the industry, and now Sophie Ray, from Aldbury, is performing on the very same stage.

Sophie has been gigging in and around the Dacorum area but now hopes to follow in Sam’s illustrious footsteps – the Money On My Mind singer is now nominated for five Brit Awards.

Sophie said: “I am so happy to be playing such a prestigious venue and it’s inspiring to think that so many fantastic artists have graced the stage there and the thought that I could potentially have a fraction of their success one day is crazy. It’s definitely a little bit scary, but I’m hoping to channel that positively on the night!”

The young singer and pianist’s new EP ‘Treading Water’, which features four tracks, comes out on Monday, January 26.

This follows her first EP ‘Fiction of You’ and single ‘Home’, which is available for download from iTunes, Googleplay, Amazon and on sites like Spotify.

Sophie, who describes her style of music as ‘alternative soul’, added: “I was brought up listening to a complete variety of music, from soul to rock. I definitely take vocal inspiration from artists like Jocelyn Brown and Alicia Keys, but I try to put a modern spin on soulful songs.”

She has more than 145,000 hits on her Youtube channel and has previously made it to the final stages of MTV’s unsigned talent list and into the final of the ‘Chilfactor’ to try and win a performance slot at Tring festival Chilfest.

Following a busy 2014 which saw Sophie perform at the O2 Academy Islington, Brownstock Festival, and Wilkestock Festival, she hopes to be playing more gigs and festivals this year, as well as also recording some new music in the studio.

The so far, unsigned artist has already had a great start to 2015 as BBC 3 Counties Radio featured Sophie in their ‘Introducing in Beds, Herts and Bucks’ new year list.

Sophie has upcoming live sessions with Radio Dacorum this Sunday and with both BBC Three Counties and Watford’s Vibe FM next weekend.

Sophie is performing at the Old Church on Friday, January 30 with doors opening at 8pm.Tickets are £8.80 and available at wegottickets.com/sophieray, with fellow local artist Harry Phillips supporting.

Follow Sophie’s progress on Twitter @sophieraymusic or search Sophie Ray on Facebook.