Teen twins Billy and Louie sang to impress on a new TV talent show.

Little Mix: The Search aims to find an act that will support the group on their next tour.

Billy and Louie Hughes, 17, from Old Town took part in the group round last year and went straight through with four votes and a standing ovation from the band with their version of Ain’t No Other Man by Christina Aguilera.

Little Mix member Perrie Edwards said: “I’m just throwing it out there. Best vocals we’ve heard all day.”

Jade Thirlwall added: “I feel like if Jedward could actually sing, they would be you.”

Despite impressing, the pair did not make it past the next round. But Billy believes the experience has helped them grow as singers.

He said: “It was a really long day but it was very fun. We got into the room and they were so nice, they gave us some really good advice and were so complimentary.”

Louie added: “As we went through the day we got to know our band mates and got more feedback from Little Mix and they gave us advice on how to perform better and how to do things that could better our performance which was really helpful.”

The fact that the pair didn’t make it through to the next round didn’t surprise Billy. He felt their young age played a part.

“We would have loved to stay but we were 16 then and the age gap between us and the others was about five or six years so we could see that we weren’t the best fit.

“But it meant we could focus on us as a duo which, at the end of the day, is what we love to do.

“We were talking to Jessie, a member of Little Mix, and she said she could definitely see us as a duo so it was really reassuring.”

The support and encouragement was one of the key points the youngsters took away from the show, which was screened last week.

“We had such a positive response about what we do,” Billy said. “We really appreciate the fact that they have high hopes of what we’re going to do together.”

Louie added: “It was amazing to know Little Mix are completely on our side and they’re going to support us throughout our career.

“Perrie messaged us after the show saying she’s really excited to see what we’ve got in store for the next few years. And Leanne messaged us to say she’s really excited to see what new music we come up with. It’s really reassuring to know we have these massive stars on our side.”

The twins recorded and released their first single while they were studying for their GCSEs last year and have performed at gigs including Mfor.