BRADFORD'S self-acclaimed answer to John Legend has been crowned the winner of a national singing competition.

Soul singer Faheem Ashraf beat off competition from more than 9,000 hopefuls to win Open Mic UK.

Now, the 21-year-old, of Wibsey, who described his style as "John Legend-ish" - is hoping for a crack at the big time in the music industry.

"It would mean everything. I am doing everything I can to get out of the normal nine-to-five," said Faheem, who is a financial services administrator for Virgin Media.

"It is my passion - it's what I want to do full-time."

On his victory in the 16 to 20 age category - he was 20 when the competition started - Faheem said: "I feel good about it. I want to use it to my advantage and increase my chance of breaking into the music industry. I want to use it as a platform to get out there for management and record labels."

Faheem won over the judges - including various record company executives - at the competition final in Birmingham with his version of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

Previous winners of the contest include X Factor stars Lucy Spraggan, Jahmene Douglas and Union J's Jaymi Hensley.

"Quite a few have gone on to bigger things from this competition," said Faheem, who himself got through to the X Factor boot camp in the past.

"I would rather do it without TV and it seems like there's more possibility of it happening.

"It is all about meeting the right people and, hopefully, them being interested. My next step is getting a good manager - I'm on the prowl for a manager."

He added: "I am a soul singer. I have quite a distinctive voice - I get told it is quite unique."

Faheem's route to winning the competition started at auditions in Manchester, followed by regional and area finals, and ultimately the grand final.

The judging panel for the grand final included record label representatives from Sony and Universal, as well representatives from music management companies, recording studios and professional vocal coaches.