HAMPSHIRE'S answer to Christina Aguilera is cruising towards the giddy heights of fame as she prepares to take a singing competition by storm.

Judges fell in love with Mary Greenslade's videotape rendition of the American songstress's chart-topping hit Genie in a Bottle.

The ten-year-old will now take part in the regional finals of the Jammie Dodgers Jam on the Mic competition in Brighton on October 27.

Mary, who lives at Stoke Heights, Fair Oak, said: "I just love singing and when I grow up I want to be a pop star."

Mum Linda, 40, assistant clerk to Fair Oak Parish Council, said: "We've no idea where she gets it from. She started singing when she was little. She used to dress like the Spice Girls and sing their songs."

The Fair Oak Junior School pupil barely left the stage at a Karaoke evening during a family trip to Brittany in France this summer.

Mum-of-four Linda said: "The French audience thought she was really good. She made a lot of friends that night."

If Mary wins the regional finals, she will compete on national television against nine other contestants at the Abbey Road Studios in London.

The public will choose the winner who will be treated as a star for a day and make a CD recording.