It’s safe to say that reality television isn’t going anywhere.
When it took the world by storm as a new genre in the late 90s with shows like Survivor, Big Brother and American Idol, nobody expected what a wide-ranging influence it would have on culture in general from that point onward. Although those shows are not as culturally dominant as they once were, other shows have risen up to take their place.
One of those shows in particular is The X Factor.
Much like American Idol before it, The X Factor is a performance-based show where contestants show their talent onstage.
Similarly, both of these shows actually began in the United Kingdom before getting ported over to the United States (and the whole world)! With these shows come all kinds of inspiring underdog stories—and the one we have for you today is no different.
It all started shortly after Christopher Maloney, a customer service advisor from Liverpool, England. decided to audition for season nine of The X Factor in 2012.
Upon walking onstage, it was clear that Maloney was feeling the nerves.
As he moved his way to center stage, he did his best to smile and politely greet the judges. Still, it was hard not to notice how much his hands were shaking. “I’m really nervous,” he told them, holding back tears as he did so. As he explained in the interviews, Maloney had been building up the nerve to audition for the show for some time, though he’d always torn up his application before following through. Sometimes he thought he wasn’t good enough—and other times he thought he would be too anxious to perform. Now that the day had finally arrived, he was feeling a new wave of fear.
“I didn’t know how big the crowd was going to be,” he said.
Fortunately, Maloney’s grandmother came with him to support him during the day of his audition.
Although he’d never sung in front of an audience of thousands of people before, he steeled himself to perform. The judges asked him who supported him the most and he talked about his grandmother and how close they were. “The song that I’m singing was played at my granddad’s funeral,” Maloney said. The song he’d chosen was ‘The Rose’ by Bette Midler, a stirring ballad from the movie of the same name.
As he took a deep breath, Maloney almost lost his nerve—but when he started singing, the audience couldn’t believe their ears.
As it turns out, Maloney should have applied for the show much earlier!
The powerful voice that came out of Maloney was so much deeper and more powerful than anyone could’ve expected. Although it took him a moment to get into the groove, he soon found his footing and belted out a faithful version of the song. It’s clear from the video that Maloney gave the performance of the song everything that he had—so much so that many audience members were in tears!
When he finished singing, he was in tears as well.
As the song ended, the crowd rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation.
To even the most jaded viewer, it’s difficult to watch Maloney’s performance without getting emotional. So much emotion was released in that one moment when the song ended. After the performance, Maloney brought his grandmother, Pat, on stage before the judges. Aftrer the show ended, the judges asked him how old he was. “I’m 34,” Maloney said. In response, they asked how he’d managed to keep his voice hidden for so long!
Needless to say, Maloney’s stirring performance earned him four yeses from the judges.
Although the reality television trend can get tiresome at times, it’s moments like these that remind us how powerful it can be.
While Maloney went into the show just another person like any of the rest of us, he came out of it having conquered his greatest fear. As a result, he was able to share himself with the world and propel himself into the spotlight. Throughout that year’s season, Maloney was propelled through round after round on the strength of the audience’s vote. Overall, he finished third and gained plenty of exposure—he even has a single on Spotify now called “My Heart Belongs to You.” Above all, Maloney’s inspiring performance is a reminder that we should all go for our dreams.
Congratulations, Chris!
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