The 11-year-old singer and musician, who has just completed her final year at Cromwell Primary School, has been selected as one of three finalists in Newstalk ZB’s talent competition "Star of Christmas".
The youngster will perform traditional Christmas carol Silent Night live on air, as well as being interviewed by the show’s hosts.
Public voting will determine the competition winner, who will be flown to Auckland for a studio tour and to record a Christmas carol with Popstars host and former frontman of New Zealand band Zed, Nathan King.
The carol will be released in time for Christmas 2022.
Mischa said her dream was to take her love of singing to the heights of the Grammy Awards.
At the age of 8 she started performing at farmers’ markets and community events.
Earlier this year she won the Junior Talent Quest at Timaru’s Caroline Bay Carnival, and competed in the Gold Guitar Awards in Gore.
"[Singing] always makes me feel so happy — even if I am down it’s the one thing that can really make me feel amazing and special," she said.
Many competitions focused on performers older than 13 years and Mischa said she was excited to have a national competition in which she was able to take part.
"The best [Christmas] present would be actually winning the competition, but I still feel pretty proud getting this far," she said.
Mischa’s mother, Belinda Thomlinson, said she was proud of the way her daughter had pursued her musical dreams.
"She’s won already — it’s a big achievement," she said.
"Family all over the country will be listening to the radio on Christmas morning."
- By Shannon Thomson
