Back in 2008, Aliki Chrysochou had been living the typical life.
The gorgeous, blonde music student had just finished her first year at Sheffield University when things started to go terribly wrong.
When Aliki returned home from school, her parents started noticing some alarming behaviors.
“I would go to brush my teeth and have no idea how to do it,” Aliki told The Sun UK. “When I poured a cup of tea, I’d let the boiling water spill and burn my hand. I can remember going for a coffee with friends and not being able to say a single word. It was like a switch had been turned off in my brain.”
Doctors diagnosed Aliki with focal encephalitis, however, things didn’t get better from there.
Encephalitis is the inflammation of the brain, generally as a result of a virus or inappropriate immune response. For the first 6 weeks, Aliki did not respond to treatment which led her symptoms to progress.
“It was a very frightening time,” her mother told Britain’s Got Talent.
“She couldn’t walk, she couldn’t feed herself.”
“It was really like everything she’d ever known had been rubbed away.”
One night, while Aliki was in the hospital, her mother started humming some of her favorite tunes from childhood. That’s when something amazing happened.
“All of a sudden, you just heard this wonderful, clear humming coming from Aliki— and she could just remember all the tunes” her mother shared.
“It was amazing. It was a sign.”
After Aliki hummed to her mother, the young woman continued to make progress— but she admits it was very slow. “I had to learn to read again using an ABC book from one-year-olds, and my brother would give me simple sums— such as one plus one— to complete,” Aliki said.
“Gradually, I made progress and I was able to go back to university one year after I caught the illness. I graduated two years later, in 2005.”
Music has always been a big part of Aliki’s life, but her mother thinks the role it has played in her recovery has made her daughter’s passion that much stronger— the passion she decided to show the world on the Britain’s Got Talent stage back in 2013.
For the performance, Aliki has chosen to sing “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence— an apt choice considering her former struggles.
Aliki’s voice is an angelic soprano, very reminiscent of opera. As she sings, the crowd cheers, and at one point, Simon looks to Amanda with a knowing smile and nod. It’s interesting hearing such a powerful yet high-pitched voice, it’s not something you see often in these competitions.
By the end of the audition, the judges are blown away by both Aliki’s talent and story— rising from their seats to give her a standing ovation with the crowd.
Alisha and Amanda are holding back tears.
“You are inspiring so many people,” Alisha tells her.
“I’m so glad you came here today.”
David says: “When you came on, I thought, ‘I hope your voice is as beautiful as how you look’. And it was. It was incredible.”
Even Simon, the super-critic, couldn’t deny the beauty of her performance.
“You just have a natural talent.”
See it for yourself below!
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