The Got Talent franchise has brought the world some incredibly memorable talents.
For the most part, the performances and auditions that make their way around the world feature incredible musical talents. Although there are occasional magic shows, dances and other wildcard talents, there’s something about music that cuts to the heart of almost every human being.
Still, one under-appreciated part of these talent shows is that it sometimes takes more than raw talent to make it to the big leagues.
No audition showed that better than this one from Australia’s Got Talent.
When Owen Campbell went on the show, he’d been touring all around the world—though that really means he’d been busking on the street.
Although he loved all the experiences he’d had playing raw music from the heart for people around the world, the truth was that he wasn’t making much more than enough money to simply live a meagre daily existence and keep things going until the next stop. It was sometime after all this traveling that he decided he would audition for Australia’s Got Talent.
Still, all his traveling had made him relatively out of touch with Australian culture and Australian television.
Although he was nervous to perform, Campbell came out on stage just as confident as anyone had ever been.
Right as he walks out, he sits down with his guitar. The judges ask where he’s from and he tells them that he’s from Canberra. Almost immediately, he seems overly friendly with the judges—and even calls one of them by the wrong name.
Jokingly, one of the other judges hits his “no” buzzer. Regardless of getting off on the wrong foot, Campbell is totally unapologetic.
Still, it’s clear the judges feel uncomfortable!
After that tense exchange, Campbell asks if he should get into the performance.
As he does, he addresses the audience by asking them to pretend the judges aren’t there for a little while—instead, he’ll do the show directly for them.
Needless to say, this is not the right thing to say for the judges! Although things are already off on a very combative foot, everything changes when Campbell starts to play an original song called “Sunshine Road.”
As soon as he starts singing, the crowd is immediately on his side!
Although many contestants play an upright acoustic guitar in their performances, Campbell plays a bluesy style of slide guitar.
While he’s sitting down with the guitar on his lap, he uses a shot glass in one hand and plucks down from the top to create an incredibly bluesy sound that the crowd loves!
Beyond that, it’s clear that his voice has plenty of soul and he really means the words he’s singing. Without a doubt, Campbell has a ton of talent and is a breath of fresh air on the stage.
Once it’s all over, the crowd all stands up and gives him a thunderous round of applause.
Still, the audition isn’t over yet.
As soon as the song ends, the judges turn their questions on him. “Why did you try to make an enemy of us as soon as you walked out here?” one of them asks. Campbell gets on the defensive, but the crowd still seems to be on his side. One of the other judges tells him that he made a pretty stupid mistake by being rude at the beginning—and the crowd starts booing the judges!
Throughout the entire exchange, the judges and the singer keep verbally sparring.
Towards the end of it, Campbell says his aim isn’t to be in a “boy band”—and he gets his first no from the judges.
Despite his incredible talent, the judge gives him a no. Next up, another judge compliments his incredible talent and criticizes his attitude. One of the audience members yells up in his defense: “He’s got talent!”
With that, he gets one yes. At the end, it all comes down to the last judge. Although she has a hard time deciding what she’s going to do, the audience tries to help by shouting at her: “Just say yes!”
Ultimately, she says that he’s talented… but she tells him no!
At the end of it all, the crowd goes wild in anger at the judges’ decision!
Everyone is so angry that Campbell didn’t make it through but the judges stand by their decision. As he walks off the stage, the entire crowd boos the judges and cheers for Campbell! Although this was one of the most awkward and uncomfortable auditions, it contains an important and controversial lesson about the music industry… but it’s a tough one to swallow. If you’ve watched this clip, what do you think? Should the judges have let him through or did they make the right choice? Let us know in the comments.
Sorry to Owen on the loss but it was a great performance! Check it out in the clip below:
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