Rachel Ann Stroud is passionate about music.

And now the 21-year-old is bringing that passion to people around the world.

Five years after she wowed the nation on TV’s The Voice, she’s started her own online singing tuition business.

It’s already attracting attention from as far afield as Canada.

Rachel said: “I honestly love teaching.

“I know my voice inside out and feel passionate about helping others.

“It’s just so rewarding.”

Rachel was 16 when she appeared on The Voice, the fifth and final series to air on BBC One before moving to ITV.

Kaiser Chiefs’ front man Ricky Wilson was the first to hit his button in the blind audition and swing his seat round.

He told Rachel, then 16: “I just hope you appreciate how good you are.

“I wish I had the words to express what you’ve just done and what people at home saw.”

Fellow judges Boy George, Paloma Faith and will.i.am joined in the praise describing her performance as “brilliant’ and “amazing”.

Will.i.am said she was like “an angel falling from the sky.”

Ricky went on to mentor Rachel and she made it through to the knockout stages.

For the next five years Rachel performed at gigs and conducted one-to-one private lessons.

Absolute Music also helped nurture her talent.

She went into teaching and completed a performance diploma with the help of a vocal coach and the Bournemouth-based company.

But like many, Rachel was hit hard by the pandemic.

Gigs and one-to-one private lessons were cancelled.

The future looked bleak.

During the first lockdown Rachel received Universal Credit.

And it was Universal Credit which came up trumps, suggesting that Rachel should contact the SAMEE charity.

SAMEE stands for Support And Mentoring Enabling Entrepreneurship.

Through the charity, Rachel received a laptop – she had previously been trying to teach pupils over her phone.

She was also allocated her own business advisor, Ricci Colla.

He said: “Rachel has been great to work with and is clearly a very talented young woman.

“Alongside the mentoring, as her adviser, I’ve worked with Rachel to help her set stable foundations and a clear direction for her business goals.”

A Facebook Live interview by Ricci also brought Rachel to the attention of another key individual in the formation of her business.

Martyn Brown, Owner of Marketing Bugle, pictured left, was one of the people watching.

He said: “I became very impressed with what I was seeing and hearing.

“It dawned on me that Rachel was probably my ideal client.

“Not only a talented singer but also running singing lesson classes as well as writing her own songs.

“I had recently set up my own online course system.

“It needed testing and so I offered Rachel the chance to use it for her music lessons.

“With the pandemic making it difficult to do ‘in-person’ one to one singing lessons, doing them online would be the next best thing.

“I discovered that she had followers already and plenty of people asking about the singing lessons.

“But Rachel had no website at this stage, no email marketing system and no online course programme.

“This is where I came in.

“We are now building a website, the email marketing system is in place ready to take subscribers (fans and followers) and Rachel is creating the online music lessons course, too.

“By putting everything she has into a strategy, I believe that Rachel will become a big star and have a business success that will keep on growing.”

Samantha Everard, pictured left, who founded the SAMEE charity which gained charitable status in 2016, said: “Rachel is a lockdown success story.

“The SAMEE charity is delighted to have helped her during these challenging times to realise her potential and start her business.”

Rachel started singing at the age of eight after her parents, Alan and Sue, in Poole bought her a piano.

One of eight – she has two brothers and five sisters – Rachel entered her first singing competition when she was 14.

A year before appearing on The Voice she won the national TeenStars music competition against 9,000 other entrants.

Rachel is qualified in teaching rock and pop.

Reviews for her singing tuition include:

• “Rachel was brilliant with my daughter, who can tend to be shy. We both warmed to her straight away and my five-year-old loved her lesson. She said Rachel sings like a mermaid!”
• “I wanted to try something new and out of my comfort zone so I’d booked a singing lesson  with Rachel as a one off having watched her sing and already in awe of her talents. I’m a complete novice and I’ve never sang in front of anyone before. Her positive and encouraging attitude is a huge boost for confidence.”
• “As a 14-year-old student, Rachel has helped my confidence in myself, my voice and being able to have fun and forget everything that has happened this year.”
• “I was Rachel’s first-ever student so I’ve stayed with her for five years. She has given me the skills and the confidence to perform music I love and to sing like some of my heroes (her included) My favourite thing about our lessons is how they make me feel empowered like I could sing anything if I really try.

Rachel continues to write her own music and is also planning an album.

She said: “I’m so excited about the future.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

“I want encourage people to get to know music and love it as much as I do.

“My Mum and Dad have been amazing and so supportive.

“All the money went into their children.

“I’m also so appreciative to Ricci, Martyn and the SAMEE charity.

“Their support has allowed me to follow my dream.

“I just feel so grateful.”

• rachelannstroud.com/