Weston-super-Mare man crowned 'world's best Elvis tribute act'

  • Emilio Santoro speaks to Alex and Seb about his recent success

An Elvis tribute artist from North Somerset has claimed the highest accolade in the business - something he thought he could only ever dream of doing.

Emilio Santoro was crowned Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist World Champion at a sing-off on the Graceland Estate in Memphis on 12 August.

When it came to scoring the 15 semi-finalists from across North America and England, the judges just couldn't help falling in love with Emilio.

Speaking to ITV News West Country about his success, the 21-year-old said: "I'm still on cloud nine. I think coming home to my brother has definitely humbled me a bit straight away.

"The whole family is been amazing. My friends have been sending so many amazing messages from all over the world, I just still can’t believe it.

"Ever since I started as an Elvis Tribute actor - I think eight years ago when I was thirteen - I’ve always looked up to this being the pinnacle.

"This is always the end goal. And now that I’m here, I’m just seeing it as the very beginning and I want to just carry on from here."

As a child, Emilio fell in love with Elvis and begged for a jumpsuit for Christmas Credit: Emilio Santoro

Emilio first donned his blue suede shoes aged four when his mum showed him the “Aloha from Hawaii” special.

He said: "Then I was writing to Santa asking for a jumpsuit and lucky enough Santa and the elves came later that Christmas.

"So it’s been a dream of mine to be on the stage when I was watching all the Elvis tribute acts when I was going to the local theatre in Weston-super-Mare, at the playhouse."

His favourite Elvis song is "Memphis, Tennessee," and his favourite Elvis song to perform is "If I Can Dream".

Coming second in Memphis was Louis Brown, from Goole in Yorkshire, and Emilio said it was "a proud moment for the Brits".

As well as winning $20,000 in prize money, taking the world title is something of a lifetime achievement for an Elvis tribute artist.

It begs the question, "what's next?" Well, Emilio's pledged his love to the showbiz lifestyle.

He said: "I don’t have to do any competition again. So I get to sort of travel the world doing it. I get to tour the world, show Elvis to the next generation - that’s my goal.

"I want to bring Elvis to a younger generation. And I’m sure he doesn’t need my help - 47 years after and we still listen to his music. But we're going to try our best to keep on with the legacy."