Watch: Shropshire student wins music contract

Martha Edwards, from Hopton near Shrewsbury, has just gained a one year deal with PopShack, the world's first entertainment network for YouTube music stars.

About to start the second year of her Comparative Literature degree at King's College London, she came to the attention of PopShack through her Youtube and blog sites, singing and performing songs accompanied by guitar or piano.

She said: "I posted a version of me singing Glitterball by Ella Henderson and PopShack made contact and asked if I would join them.

"Since signing the contract I have already seen benefits, as they give advice and feedback about music, video filming and how to network.

"By the end of the year they want me to have grown both as a musician, singer and performer."

Martha, who studied at Shrewsbury High School and Shrewsbury Sixth Form College, is now hoping to develop a career in music, but as a child had dreamt of being a swimmer.

But that dream was shattered when at the age of 11she was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition in which the spine has a three-dimensional deviation and can look like an S or C rather than a straight line.

Martha, now 20, said: "I had to undergo two operations at Gobowen Hospital to correct the condition, one at age 11 and another when I was 14, but unfortunately I was left with a rib deformity.

"I had to give up swimming completely and as a consequence spent more time at the piano, which was a great instrument for me because I could sit down to play it.

"Then when I was at Shrewsbury Sixth Form I also took up classical singing and the bassoon, playing with the Shropshire Youth Orchestra. I applied for and was accepted on a music degree course at Kings College in London."

But while she was at sixth form, Martha was diagnosed with a further medical problem, pectus excavatum, a deformity of the chest wall which occurs in about four in every 1000 people.

She underwent further surgery at Alderhey in Liverpool for this, but the surgery was difficult and she developed a very serious infection and was rushed back in.

After spending so much time in hospital she was forced to postpone her university course for a year.

Martha said: "I took a gap year so I could recover from the surgery and when I finally arrived at King's College I became a little overwhelmed.

"I really struggled to get into the course, my confidence was low and I decided to move from a music to a literature degree - that's when I started to post on Youtube.

"Gaining the connection with PopShack has really helped my confidence and whilst I am thoroughly enjoying my degree, if I got the chance to be a professional musician or singer I would jump at it.

"My family are delighted for me and things are going well, I had my last surgery at Alderhey a few weeks ago and feel like I am now on the mend."