Series Synopsis

A band of thirty schoolgirls brave tensions, line-up changes and heartbreak to triumph at Europe’s top music festivals. Over the course of a year, the Sweethearts face the hardest lesson of all – when to let go.

Episode Synopses

Episode 10 – Sitting On Top Of The World

Chloe loses her voice at the Montreux Jazz Festival and fears she has permanent damage. “One song” Abbey increases her song count. Elsbeth abandons a gig in Vissoe.

Fresh from a good start in France, Sweethearts have arrived in Switzerland for their gigs at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The festival is a mecca for the world’s top musicians and draws crowds from all over the globe. This year’s headline acts include Herbie Hancock, Mark Ronson, Bob Dylan and Kimbra.

The band is also playing side gigs throughout the country. It makes for a gruelling schedule of eight gigs in eight days. Ross warns the band to look after themselves: they can’t afford to go onstage looking half asleep.

Abbey and Keely S head up the steepest mountain in the world. Abbey is already suffering from a cold. She reveals her difficult battle with depression and anxiety the previous year. It affected her enjoyment of singing but she is enjoying it again.

The band’s first Montreux gig has three thousand people in attendance. Amid the excitement of the warm ups, Ross has had to cancel one of Abbey’s songs. Abbey’s cold has gotten worse and she doesn’t want to risk her voice. She waits around for over an hour to sing just one song.

The girls are in a good groove for their second Montreux gig. Abbey has her voice back and things look to be running smoothly again.

But during “Red In Your Eyes”, disaster strikes: there’s something wrong with Chloe’s voice. Ross immediately clocks it and rearranges the set list so he can pull Chloe from the gig. Chloe covers up the pain she is in and finishes the song, trying to modulate the high notes. She leaves stage, and locks herself in the girls’ toilets, devastated and inconsolable.

Meanwhile, Abbey hits the stage in full voice.

The girls take a winding, seat-gripping bus ride up to the Swiss Alps, where they explore the Zinal Glacier. Some of the older girls go bungee jumping and zip lining. It’s a much needed distraction from the disappointment of the previous day’s gig.

Chloe rests her voice and sits out of the next gig in Vissoe. She is scared she has inflicted permanent damage on her voice. Singing has always been her main talent. Abbey picks up Chloe’s songs.

A few minutes before show time, Elsbeth refuses to go onstage. She’s been keeping quiet about the severe RSI in her hand and wrist, and it’s now too painful to play. The band plays without two of their mentors.

They’re only halfway through the tour and it’s already extracting its toll.