Soul music is a passionate genre that combines elements of gospel, rhythm, blues, and jazz. It originated in the late 1950s, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes it as “music that arose out of the black experience in America.” As the genre became more popular during the 60s, we were introduced to legends such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Etta James, and the Jackson 5.
Because soul music seems to have originated from the “black experience of America”, it’s not often you see a young, blonde girl belting out the lyrics with a power that could give the legends a run for their money— but that’s exactly what Louisa Johnson, a 17-year-old from Essex, did on the 12th season of The X-Factor UK.
Louisa lives at home with her mom and describes the woman as her “best friend”. Throughout the years, music is the only thing Louisa’s ever been good at, and during the audition, she tells the judges:
“I’ve literally been working my whole life towards this moment.”
Although Louisa had tried out for other talent competitions before, she had never gotten anywhere with it. “I was just, like, thinking when was my time going to come?” she told The Jakarta Post— but that moment finally came during her X-Factor audition.
In the audition, which has been viewed over 67 million times, Louisa walks on to the stage, nervous as can be.
Her anxiety is audible, and judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini tells her to “breathe” and relax before her performance of the Jackson 5 hit song “Who’s Loving You”.
As Louisa awaits the lyrics, she takes a deep breath in preparation— and when she belts out the words with a commanding, soulful voice, the young teen takes everyone by surprise.
Even Simon, who had been looking down is caught off-guard during the first note. He does quick double-take as if he can’t believe this sound is coming from Louisa.
Her voice is beyond her years, denoting a passion and soul that no one expected from such a young girl.
Before she can even finish, Simon is already on his feet.
Louisa can sense her hard work has paid off, and this is the moment she’s been waiting for.
Although you can see the emotion on her face, she doesn’t falter and carries on through the end of the song.
By the time she finishes, it’s no secret she’s won over the judges and crowd with her spellbinding voice.
“That,” Simon announces afterward, “is what you call a singer.”
“That was absolutely stunning,” says Rita Ora.
“Your soul sounds like it’s been born before.”
Louisa Johnson ultimately went on to win her season of the X-Factor UK, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the show.
Here’s a clip of her winning performance:
Now, Louisa is currently planning to release a debut album; however, it has been pushed back since 2016. “The one thing Rita Ora said to me is to never let anybody tell me how to be myself,” she told The Jakarta Post. “I guess her words rung true with me, because that’s what I’m doing: I don’t want to put out the album until I am sure that is very fully myself.”
At this point in time, no release date has been announced.
Check out Louisa’s incredible performance below!
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