From the beginning of her audition, it was clear that America’s Got
Talent’s four judges – Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Heidi
Klum – didn’t have high expectations for 13-year-old singer Courtney
Hadwin when she auditioned for the show back in 2019. “Don’t be
nervous,” Mel B said, trying to reassure the teenager after she admitted
the nerves were getting to her. “I know this is a big stage and there’s lots
of people here. But you’re here for a reason, so go for it and good luck.”
As it turned out, Courtney didn’t need any luck whatsoever. As soon as

she started singing – putting her own fiery, soulful take on Otis Redding’s
‘Too Hot To Handle’ – the judges’ mouths fell open in shock, unable to
believe that such an incredible voice could come from a young girl who
only a few seconds before had seemed so shy and unsure of herself. Her
confidence levels were also off the scale, and she danced wildly around
the stage as though she had been doing it all her life.

But the best was yet to come for Courtney, because when she finished
her performance, judge Howie Mandel decided he loved her voice so
much that he was going to press his golden buzzer, putting her straight
through to the America’s Got Talent quarter-finals. “Oh my gosh, you’re
not from this era,” he said, clearly awe-struck, “you’re from a whole
different era,” while an impressed Simon Cowell told her, “you were this
shy little thing when you came out, and then you sing and you’re like a

lion.”
Sadly, Courtney didn’t win America’s Got Talent; instead, she made the
top ten. However, she did give numerous other jaw-droppingly good
performances throughout the competition, particularly in the final where
she gave a rip-roaring rendition of Tina Turner’s ‘Nutbush City Limits’.
“You are on fire, you’re amazing, you’re a superstar,” said Howie after
watching her, with the latter phrase surely being the most appropriate to
describe this young woman’s incredible vocals and charisma.
With her unique dancing and unmistakable vocal sound, from her
America’s Got Talent audition alone, you could tell that Courtney Hadwin
was born to be onstage. As such, it’s no surprise that since the show
finished, she has gone on to forge a career for herself as a successful
performer. With five original singles under her belt already and a hotlyanticipated debut album on the way alongside an American tour, no doubt
we’ll be hearing more from this very talented young woman in the near
future.