There are some auditions in talent shows such as America’s Got Talent and The X Factor that the judges and the people watching at home will remember for a very long time.
The performance by a then 29-year-old Rachel Potter is definitely one of those auditions.
The young lady isn’t a stranger to the music scene, as she lived in New York for a while and performed in a number of Broadway shows.
However, her number one dream was to be a country singer, so she decided to pursue that and she moved to Nashville, working as a bartender trying to get a foot in the country music industry.
“So you’re familiar with the music scene,” judge Demi asked her before she performed. “Yes ma’am. Sort of.”
“So why do you need the X Factor?” was Demi’s follow-up question.
“Well, I’m 29. I’m not a spring chicken. When there’s a lot of 15 year olds getting record deals they may be overlooking a 29 year old,” Rachel told her.
Even though you could see that some of the judges were a bit coy and skeptical, that all disappeared the moment Rachel started singing.
Seconds into her performance, judge Kelly Rowland can be heard saying to the others “Her vocal control is crazy.”
And she’s absolutely right! Rachel sings the song with incredible purity and passion, making it sound like the voice of an angel.
She decided to perform “Somebody to Love” by none other than Queen, and while the original will never be surpassed, Rachel absolutely does the song and the musical legend justice. She also sings it with so much energy and passion, and her limited experience on Broadway stages really shines through as well.
It didn’t take long before the whole audience started waving along as they were mesmerized by her vocal talent. She received a standing audience from the crowd and three of the judges, and although Simon remained on his chair, his smile of approval was worth more than a thousand words.
Rachel herself was quite stunned by the amazing reaction on her audition and clearly became emotional about the whole thing.
“Oh my god, Rachel, what an amazing, powerful future!” Paulina Rubio said to her.
“Rachel, Rachel, Rachel… Where do I begin? You just a beast, you are a beast!” Kelly Rowland added.
However, it was a line that Simon said that resonated with her the most.
“If felt like to me that you’ve been wanting to give this performance for a long, long time to prove a point, right?” he asked her. After a quick “yes”, Simon assured said: “And you’ve proved a point.”
Demi Lovato even said that it was the easiest yes she had given as a judge on the X Factor so far!
It also didn’t take long before the audition video went viral around the world, as the audition video currently has a little under 48 million views on YouTube.
Rachel eventually finished as a Top 12 finalist in that year’s edition of the talent program, and the judges and people watching called her elimination absolutely shocking.
However, even though she didn’t finish as far in the competition as she had hoped, she’s been actively pursuing her musical career and making her voice heard around the world since.
She released her first single shortly after the X Factor and was also able to release her debut album called ‘Not So Black And White” thanks to crowdfunding and support by her fans. A cover of “Somebody to Love”, the song she performed in her audition, was also included on the album.
Be sure to check out her stunning achievement and phenomenal voice in the audition video below.
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