Birdy

Birdy was born on 15 May 1996, in Lymington, Hampshire. Her mother is a concert pianist, and Birdy learned to play the piano at the age of seven, and began writing her own music at the age of eight. Birdy studied at Brockenhurst College in Brockenhurst, a sixth form college in the New Forest, as of 2013. She sings and plays the piano. Her great uncle was the actor Sir Dirk Bogarde. Her great-great-great grandfather was Belgian, the rest of her ancestors were English and Scottish.
Her stage name comes from the nickname her parents gave her as a baby, because she opened her mouth like a little bird when fed.^{[citation needed]} Her family and friends call her Birdy while only teachers call her Jasmine, her given name.

Open Mic UK

In 2008, as a 12-year-old, Birdy won the UK talent contest Open Mic UK, a spinoff of the Live and Unsigned competition. She won both the under-18s category and the Grand Prize, against 10,000 other competitors. She performed her own song at the competition called "So Be Free" in front of 2,000 people.