Lovesick lad Ryan O'Shaughnessy
What’s the best way for a nineteen-year-old guy to declare his undying love for the girl he’s been friends with for six years but didn’t have the nerve to confess his secret crush to? Why, sing an original love song to her before millions on national TV, of course! That’s exactly what Ryan O’Shaughnessy did in (more…)
Sam Kelly
After Sam Kelly sang Bob Dylan’s To Make You Feel My Love for his Britain’s Got Talent audition on Saturday, March 24, 2012, judge Simon Cowell commented, “I’ve got to tell you, Sam. When you’ve got absolute silence in a room like this, you’ve nailed it.”
Nail it he did. The nineteen-year-old son of dairy farmers told the judges before he sang that he “never really (more…)
CHARLOTTE AND JONATHAN
AUDITION
Jonathan Antoine and Charlotte Jaconelli
When Jonathan Antoine and Charlotte Jaconelli walked onstage to audition for Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday, March 24, 2012, Simon Cowell turned to a fellow judge and whispered, “Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse.”
Then Jonathan began to sing. One minute and forty-three seconds later, after Jonathan had belted out a final note that was breathtaking in its power and grandeur, all four judges were on their feet and the audience had risen as one to welcome a new star to the world.
I had never seen Simon so awed by a performance, not even by Susan Boyle’s debut. All Simon could say was, (more…)
Charice
Charice‘s tribute to Whitney Houston (which occurred before Houston’s passing on February 11, 2012), is Exhibit A of why the soon-to-be twenty-year-old Filipina singer is destined for superstardom. The raw power and emotion that characterize all of Charice’s performances are fully on display. Much of Charice’s appeal can be attributed to her organic authenticity; she sings with such honesty and passion that even a casual listener cannot help but be moved.
The context behind this performance only grew more dramatic with (more…)
RACHEL CROW
AUDITION
Rachel Crow
IN YOUR ARMS
THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
On November 3, 2011, Kina Grannis, a twenty-six-year-old guitarist and singer-songwriter, released the above stop-motion music video for her (more…)
What a joy it is to watch somebody rise up and strain against the bonds of their paralyzing fears and physical limitations, as if to say, No longer will you control my life! I must be free . . . I will be free!
In September 2009, twenty-one-year-old Scott James, who was diagnosed with (more…)
PHILLIP LOMAX
(AUDITION)
Phillip Lomax
Like Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Buble before him, Phillip Lomax is a throwback to another era when crooning caused swooning. With good looks, a winning smile and (more…)
TORA WOLOSHIN
(AUDITION)
Tora Woloshin
Gotta love Tora Woloshin‘s audition on The X Factor on September 29, 2011. It’s great when an unknown walks out onto the biggest stage imaginable and owns it. I love to see people who are comfortable in their own skin perform with such confidence and unbridled joy, as if singing for (more…)
As long as we’re talking about classically trained musicians performing anonymously in train stations, here’s a question for you: Would you notice a (more…)
MARCUS CANTY
(AUDITION)
Marcus Canty soaks it all in
Effervescent. That’s the word to describe twenty-year-old Marcus Canty. He won the hearts and minds of the judges and audience during his September 21, 2011 audition on The X Factor not just with the way he sang Stevie Wonder’s iconic I Wish, not just with the way he danced so purely and joyfully as he sang, but also for his bubbly personality and big heart.
Perhaps the best part of Marcus’ audition was when he finished singing. There he was, on a national stage in front of famous judges and an audience of thousands, soaking (more…)
Stacy Francis
On the September 21, 2011 edition of The X Factor, Stacy Francis delivers a knockout performance on behalf of all women who are told they’re not talented enough, not pretty enough, and not young enough. For too many years, she believed those deceptions. Well, after bringing the crowd to its feet with her powerful rendition of Aretha Franklin’s Natural Woman, Stacy blew those lies right out of the water.
That’s what’s so great (more…)
JOSH KRAJCIK
AUDITION
AT LAST
Ya gotta love auditions like this in which the performer looks so hopelessly out of place that the judges can’t help but roll their eyes. When thirty-year-old burrito slinger Josh Krajcik said that he was going to sing At Last by Etta James, Simon Cowell disdainfully replied, “Really?” Yes, Simon. Really. As in (more…)
DREW RYNIEWICZ
(AUDITION)
Drew Ryniewicz has her moment on "The X Factor"
I love that magical moment in TV talent shows when an average person walks out on stage, wows the audience and changes their life forever. Drew Ryniewicz‘s moment came on September 28, 2011, during her audition on The X Factor. Drew sang a (more…)
MELANIE AMARO
AUDITION
LISTEN
Oh. My. God. Watching Melanie Amaro’s audition for The X Factor, I found myself physically trembling and on the verge of sobbing. Seriously. Not only is her voice that powerful, pure and true, she has a huge heart and a loving, supportive family, all of which adds up to an emotional wallop of a performance.
