TEENAGE pop-rap duo Bars and Melody caused a sensation when they appeared on the 2014 season of Britain's Got Talent.

Finishing third, their fresh, youthful style earned them legions of young fans, a deal with Simon Cowell's record label and an offer to tour the States.

Rapper Leondre 'Bars' Devries, from Port Talbot and Bristol based singer Charlie 'Melody' Lenehan initially met on Facebook. United by a shared love of music, they decided to form a duo.

Devries was already performing under the name Little Dre; Lenehan had begun singing at age 11 when some school friends formed a band and invited him to join. Aged just 13 and 15 respectively, and looking much younger, they auditioned for BGT with a version of Twista's Hope which featured rewritten verses addressing the issue of bullying.

Their performance sent the crowd crazy, and Simon Cowell pressed the golden buzzer to send them straight through to the semi-final, where they performed Puff Daddy's I'll Be Missing You.

Whilst still in competition on BGT, they appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on U.S. television, which led to a raft of sponsorship and tour offers. After the competition ended, they inked a record deal with Cowell's Syco label. Their debut single, the aforementioned Twista cover -- now retitled Hopeful -- was released last summer and went to number five in the U.K. singles chart.

Bars and Melody appear at The Engine Rooms in Southampton tomorrow night.

Tickets from seetickets.com