YouTube sensation links up with Britain's Got Talent finalist

The Chiswick girl responsible for a touching tribute to her dying mother which became an internet phenomenon is back in the recording studio looking to add to the £350,000 raised already for the fund set up in her mother's name.

Sarah Philips plans to release a new single and is rehearsing a duet with Britain's Got Talent finalist Faryl Smith.

On the evening her mother died this February, 16 year old Sarah went to her bedroom and sang Paolo Nutini's Autumn into her mobile phone. The song with its accompanying video of family moments became a YouTube hit, gaining 250,000 views in a week and attracting press interest from around the world. It has now had over 373,000 hits.

The song was released on 22nd March 2010 with Paolo Nutini's blessing and went into the Top 10 on the iTunes chart, no.49 in the Official UK Chart and no.4 in the Indie Chart.

Record sales, and funds raised largely as a result of interest generated by "Autumn" have helped to raise over £350,000 so far for the Debbie Phillips Cervical Cancer Research Fund ("Debbie Fund"). This money will be used by the UCL Cancer Research Institute to fund research into the development of novel drugs for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Debbie's husband Mark Phillips who was with her for 30 years before she died said, "To have raised so much in such a short space of time is wonderful. But there's still a long way to go."

To help it reach its aim the Debbie Fund has now launched its web site: www.debbiefund.org.

The fund raising is on-going. From 30th August Sarah Phillips will be in Angel Recording Studio recording a follow on single "Blue Chair", written by her and Charlie Mole.

Sarah said, "Having raised awareness and money for the fund, Blue Chair is a positive and uplifting follow up to Autumn. I hope that we can release it as a charity single later in the year and raise more money."

Faryl Smith has agreed to be the first Ambassador for the fund along with actress Imogen Stubbs. She said, " I am looking forward to working with them to be able to help raise awareness and money to help young women like me to have a future where there are more options available to them."

August 31, 2010