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Jahmene Douglas Stuns With Soulful Cover Of 'At Last'
Nobody expected much from him, but his voice electrified the whole audience!
Ryan Aliapoulios
09.04.19

Without a doubt, there are plenty of different reality singing competition shows to choose from.

Ever since the advent of American Idol and its wild popularity around the world, these kinds of shows have proliferated. If you like a straight-forward singing competition show, Idol might still be the best choice.

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wikipedia.org

If you want something a little more varied, there’s also the America’s Got Talent, which includes virtually any kind of performance you could name. In the middle is The X Factor, a relatively straight-forward show that also happens to be an international franchise.

And over the years, there have been some pretty interesting characters to appear on it.

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wikipedia.org

While everyone who comes on these shows is liable to be a little nervous, some are definitely more nervous than others.

That was definitely the case when it came to 21-year-old Jahmene Douglas, a contestant on The X Factor UK’s 2012 season. While everyone is nervous on these shows, Douglas seemed especially jumpy when he walked out.

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YouTube Screenshot

He introduced himself to the judges while wearing a full suit as he was clearly trying to make a good impression. Although he wanted to be a professional singer, he tells the crowd that his main job is working at a supermarket.

As it turns out, he’s the one who marks down the products that are about to go bad.

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YouTube Screenshot

After his brief introduction, the judges clear the way for him to perform.

The song he chooses to sing is “At Last” by Etta James, a notoriously soulful and difficult song to sing from an American jazz giant. As soon as the first notes of the backing music play, however, Douglas is already off with a bang.

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From the very beginning, he hits a huge high note and puts his own vibrato and spin on it—and immediately, all the judges perk up in their chairs and pay attention.

Still, he’s only getting warmed up.

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YouTube Screenshot

Although the song is originally sung by woman, Douglas shows that he’s more than up to the challenge of matching her voice and making it his own.

As he continues along, he adds plenty more of his own trills and vocalizations into it. The song goes on and the judges show each other that they have goosebumps on their arms.

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YouTube Screenshot

Although he keeps going higher and higher, Douglas hits a few notes at the end that seem impossibly high. Before the song is over, he gets several spontaneous rounds of applause.

When it’s finally over, the audience gets on their feet and gives him a standing ovation!

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YouTube Screenshot

Seeing how much everybody loves him, Douglas is overcome with emotion.

After all the noise dies down, it’s time for the judges to give him their feedback. From the very beginning, all the input is positive. Although everyone says that he definitely has talent and some star power, nobody expected it because his personality seemed so timid at the beginning.

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Through it all, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive—and at the end of it all, he gets the four yeses he needs to continue! Although there have been plenty of moving performances on the show before, there’s something about this one that’s just so special.

Congratulations to Jahmene Douglas on his electrifying performance! Be sure to watch the whole thing in the link below:

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