Have you ever considered the weight of a single, chance moment? That’s all it takes to change a person’s entire life, and that’s what this story proves.
An autistic boy showed the world just how magical a single moment can be.
He belted out a hit Jackson 5 song while shopping with his mom in an Asda store and, thankfully, mom had he presence of mind to record it.
His auntie did mom one better and uploaded it on social media and now, he’s an official recording artist.
This golden-voiced youngster uses his autism as a superpower to fearlessly sing in front of audiences, the bigger the better for him. And with a voice like this, it’s no wonder he went on to wow the judges at “Britain’s Got Talent,” and have producers lining up to have him record a song.
This young man with the powerhouse vocals is Britain’s own Calum Courtney.
At just 10-years-old, the boy is already a showstopper
Or at first, he was a shopper stopper, as he performed in retail aisles while his mom shopped. Everyone in the store would stop shopping and search for where that voice was coming from.
The crowds gathered and that’s just what this little guy liked. His form of autism takes away any performance anxiety, so he can step up anywhere and sing. And boy does he sing.
Calum is from Basildon, Essex and we’re sure that his hometown is impressed with their very own. And Mom must be super proud of her son considering the obstacles he has to overcome.
The way his mom spins his autism with positivity is such an empowering way to approach his personal challenges.
“Calum has high functioning autism,” his mother told Independent. “For Calum this means blurred social boundaries, struggles with school and difficulties with friendships, but also that enables him to have no fear to get up and belt out a song. We describe his autism to him as a superpower, it may take a little from other areas of life but it’s given him the superpower of music.”
Calum adores entertaining an audience.
“He loves how it feels and hearing the sound of his voice when he sings. He is always singing around the house and performing in public has never been a problem. The more people, the better for Calum when he is performing.” Calum’s mum says.
Before his video went viral, Calum didn’t really realize just how talented he is.
“He did not realize how good he was until he saw the video, he said: ‘Mum, I’m actually really good.'” Mum tells Independent.
“Who’s Loving You” was written by Smokey Robinson for his group The Miracles.
The song became a huge hit when in 1969 The Jackson 5 performed the song on the Ed Sullivan show with an eleven-year-old Michael Jackson singing.
When The Jackson 5 performed this song on tour, Michael Jackson would tell the audience beforehand that even though he’s a kid he knows about the blues.
He would tell a story about meeting and falling in love with a girl in the sandbox. The crowd just ate it up.
Now, Calum is feeding the crowd from the palm of his own hand.
It’s hard not to compare Calum with Michael, as they both are so young and have such soulful voices.
They both can take a song and really knock it out of the park. Michael Jackson became a pop music icon, and Calum might be on his way.
The people in the shop were surprised to find this young kid singing so strong.
“I do not think people thought that it was Calum singing at first and it was just the music in the shop.” says Mum.
The video was supposed to be for his dad only until Calum’s Aunt posted it to Facebook.
That’s when it took off and Calum landed a spot on “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Once he hit the first note, he got Simon Cowell to shine his pearly whites. The crowd went wild, and along with the judges, gave him a standing ovation.
After this video went viral and his four yesses on Britain’s Got Talent, Calum was offered a recording contract to record a single for charity.
Calum took ninth overall in that year’s BGT contest.
His final performance was said to be “through the roof,” by judge Amanda Louise Holden.
And what is Calum going to do with all this fame and fortune?
“He thinks he’s gonna be able to buy a mansion,” says Mum, “He has a bit of an obsession with building them on Minecraft.”
Raw, natural talent comes along only once in a while, and this young boy has it. He’s turned his autism into a superpower, and it’s something special to watch.
Check out Calum’s humble beginnings of his rise to the stars in the video below!
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