Courtney Hadwin is ready to take on the America’s Got Talent season 13 live shows, which start Aug. 14. The 14-year-old, who hails from England, has a voice that’s truly one of a kind. It’s no wonder that she got the Golden Buzzer! You’re going to need to remember Courtney, so here are 5 key things you should know about the aspiring singer!
1. Courtney shocked the judges with her rendition of an Otis Redding classic. When Courtney stepped out on the stage to sing, the judges could not have predicted what was going to happen next. When she started belting out Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” the judges were amazed. She’s got a voice far beyond her years. She can belt some lyrics, that’s for sure! Howie Mandel, 62, gave Courtney his Golden Buzzer!
2. She was on The Voice Kids UK! She was a finalist in 2017. One of her most memorable performances was when she sang “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls in the finals. She lost to Jess Folley.
3. Janis Joplin is one of her biggest inspirations. After her first AGT performance, Howie immediately got Janis vibes from her. “To be compared to Janis Joplin is really cool. I look up to Janis Joplin, and she’s one of my favorite singers,” Courtney told Heavy.com. She also noted that she likes that Janis is “not scared to be different, and she’s her own person.”
4. She’s actually very shy in real life! Her grandfather, Tom Storey, told Inverness Courier: “Courtney is actually painfully shy, which I know people will find hard to believe after seeing her perform on stage like that.”
5. Her performances have gone viral. The YouTube video of her first AGT performance has over 45 million views! Her performance during The Voice Kids UK has nearly 6 million views!