Newcastle buskers 'excited' to release their own music after winning The Voice

A pair of Newcastle buskers say they are "excited" to release their own songs after winning a recording contract on television show The Voice.

Jenna Cole, 21, from Whitley Bay, and Olivia Irwin, 24, from County Durham, won the ITV music competition after being coached by music mogul Will.I.Am.

As a prize, the duo won a recording contract with Universal Music, £50,000 and a luxury holiday to Mauritius.

Speaking to ITV Tyne Tees Liv said: "At the moment we really want to just push our music

out there. We love being in the studio and we're just excited to get our own songs out there, and show everyone what we're about."

The pair joined forces after meeting in a Little Mix tribute act, and regularly entertained crowds around the North East before going on the show.

Jenna added: "It's so important for us now, because I think you can get boxed in, you know with us being buskers people don't think we make original material, so we're so excited to get that out there and show everyone what we've been working on."

The duo were crowned the winners of the 12th series of The Voice after being voted for by the studio audience. It makes them the first group to win the show in its history.

Speaking of the moment they won Liv said "everything just froze in time," while Jenna added "it felt like forever, it felt like a month while we stood there waiting on that stage. It felt like so long".

Both of their families were in the audience when the winning result was announced.

Liv said "We're so happy they got to experience that with us, it's obviously such a special moment for everyone and we couldn't thank them enough for being there. They're so amazing the lot of them."

During the final, Jen & Liv performed Whitney Houston's I'm Every Woman, and then Beyonce's Break My Soul with their coach Will.I.Am.

The American singer songwriter who found fame with the band Black Eyed Peas said: “Seeing the girls, they remind me of me and Apl, me and my best friend. To see people who really truly appreciate one another and support one another it just reminds me of the person that I built my dream with and that’s my best friend.”

Jen and Liv are his second act to win the show. The series other coaches were Anne-Marie, Olly Murs, and Sir Tom Jones.

Having been filmed last year, the pair continued to busk even after they had won as the series had not started airing and therefore they had to keep their win a secret.

Jenna told ITV Tyne Tees: "We obviously had to keep it a secret for so long, so now we're finally doing the work and in the studio, we're so ready for the actual songs to come out."

Liv added: "To put all that hard work in and finally be here, it's really surreal for us both."

Jenna believes the secret to their success has been putting themselves out there, crediting social media for being a positive tool in doing this.

The North Tyneside native said: "There's so much creative talent in the North East and I think everyone always thinks it's in London, so I think we all really need to rally together and get as much out there as possible."

While the pair won a life-changing music contract they plan to continue busking, saying they "we absolutely love it" and "we did it for so long".

Jen and Liv's version of I'm Every Woman is now available to stream.

You can catch up with Jen and Liv's journey on The Voice on ITVX now.