Getting up on stage is a difficult thing to do. Everyone is staring at you, waiting for you to perform, and it can be difficult to shake the nervousness. While stage fright is a common emotion, some people are just natural performers at heart— and Calum Courtney, a 10-year-old from Essex, UK, is a full-blooded entertainer.
Calum has recently been confirmed as a semi-finalist on the 12th season of Britain’s Got Talent, an accomplishment earned thanks to his stunning audition performance.
If Calum looks familiar you may recognize him from a video that went viral in December of 2017. In it, the 10-year-old stunned shoppers as he belted out the lyrics of the classic Motown hit “Who’s Loving You”, popularized by the Jackson 5.
Calum’s family had recorded the impromptu performance, and when it was uploaded online, it was viewed more than 2 million times. Now though, Calum’s testing out his skills in the big leagues, going up against Britain’s finest for the most exciting season yet.
Unbeknownst to many, Calum has been diagnosed with high-functioning autism— a condition his mother, Tupney Courtney, credits for his stunning musical skills.
Individuals with high-functioning autism have “average or above average intelligence but may struggle with issues related to social interaction and communication,” Autism Speaks explains. However, it doesn’t seem like Calum’s condition gets him down.
“Calum has high functioning autism. For Calum, this means blurred social boundaries, struggles with school and difficulties with friendships, but that also enables him to have no fear to get up and belt out a song,” his mother said.
“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,”
“We describe his autism as a superpower, it may take a little from other areas of life but it’s given him the superpower of music.”
When Calum walks on to the stage to perform, he tells the judges he has brought a lot of family and friends to support him. When Alysha asks if he is nervous, the young boy immediately shakes his no. “That’s what we like to hear!” she responds excitedly.
When the opening notes of “Who’s Loving You” begin to play and Calum unleashes the first, powerful lyric of the song, the audience immediately starts to cheer.
Referred to as a ‘child prodigy’, Calum’s mature voice is so crisp and clean to listen to. When paired with the song selection, it really is reminiscent of a young King of Pop.
Throughout the entire performance, the judges can’t help but smile— but when Calum ends the very last night, the audience erupts in applause.
“Wow,” David Walliams tells him. “What a big song for such a little guy. You did absolutely brilliant today; you should be very, very proud of yourself.”
Upon hearing the judge’s praise, Calum bursts into tears of joy.
“You’ve got soul,” Simon tells him.”You have a very authentic voice. You have a great tone to your voice. You totally controlled the song as well.
“This was special. This was really, really good and I like you a lot.”
See it for yourself below!
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