Watch This 14-Year-Old Absolutely Nail a James Brown Classic on America's Got Talent
Courtney Hadwin’s got talent.
Hadwin, 14, showed off her explosive musical abilities in the first live round of America’s Got Talent‘s season 13 as she belted James Brown‘s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”
Her pipes and moves electrified the audience, who gave her a thunderous round of applause. All four judges — Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, and Mel B — seemed impressed as well, awarding Hadwin with a standing ovation.
Entertainment Tonight reported that Hadwin opened up in an interview before the performance, revealing teenage struggles. “People at school didn’t really get my music,” she said, according to ET. “Some would say I sang like a boy and that I was weird when I dance. I got the feeling that I should change and listen to everybody, but then I remembered that people like Janis Joplin, they didn’t listen to anybody. And they got what they wanted in the end.”
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“People don’t expect me to perform the way I do,” she continued. “But when I hear music, I come alive. I feel electrified. I just get into the music and I start moving.”
Mandel, 62, gushed in a Twitter video, “I just think that sometimes people deliver, and sometimes they over-deliver, and I think Courtney over-delivered tonight. I am so proud of her. She’s not my child, but I feel like she is. She’s my golden buzzer.”
I am so proud of @CourtneyHadwin. #AGT pic.twitter.com/uElssU34O9
— Howie Mandel (@howiemandel) August 15, 2018
After the show, Hadwin tweeted, “Wow what an amazing night it has been an experience I am never gonna forget.” She added, “feeling blessed.”
Wow what an amazing night it has been an experience I am never gonna forget @AGT @howiemandel #AGT13 #wow feeling blessed ????????????????????????
— Courtney Hadwin (@CourtneyHadwin) August 15, 2018
Hadwin previously wowed the crowd during the audition rounds with an energetic performance of Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.”
She walked onstage shyly before revealing her massive voice — and earning the golden buzzer from Mandel. “You are not from this era. You’re from a whole different era,” Mandel praised.
“Bloody hell, Courtney,” Cowell, 58, told her. “You were like this shy little thing when you first came out, and then you sing. You’re like a lion.”
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
