Nervous girl on AGT transforms into a rock 'n' roll star leaving Simon Cowell gobsmacked: 'Oh my gosh'

Taking to the stage and performing in front of a live audience to show your talent takes a lot of confidence. Not everybody is cut out for the stage. Either they lack the magnetic presence or are simply not talented enough in any craft. However, when an English singer and songwriter, Courtney Hadwin, walked on the stage of one of the greatest talent hunts in the world, the judges were not prepared for what they were about to hear, as reported by NBC. Hadwin was only 13 years old when she decided to audition for the 13th season of "America's Got Talent."

In the recap YouTube channel of the show, "Talent Recap," a compilation video of Hadwin's every performance was uploaded. It received over 19 million views. On her debut stage, Hadwin was welcomed by Melanie Brown from the "Spice Girls." The teen appeared nervous and shy at first while answering the question from the judging panel. Hadwin revealed that her favorite subject in school was music and it became obvious to the audience that she was about to sing. However, the judges ended up dropping their jaws when Hadwin showed them her powerful voice.

She sang her rendition of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" and transformed it into a rock star on stage. The crowd and the judges started cheering her and expressed their amazement. When Hadwin finished singing, both Brown and fellow judge Heidi Klum were up on their feet to applaud the teenager. "Oh my gosh. You are not from this era. You're from a whole different era and I'm a huge Janice Joplin fan," judge Howie Mandel exclaimed, drawing comparisons between Hadwin and the iconic female rocker. Mandel also gave Hadwin the Golden Buzzer, taking Hadwin directly to the live show.

Despite finishing sixth in the talent show, Hadwin's musical career took off. The now-20-year-old Hadwin took another step ahead in her music career when she signed a record deal in 2018, as reported by Variety. Hadwin joined Artista Recored in partnership with Cowell's Syco Music. "It feels amazing to be joining Syco and I am super excited and feel so lucky,” Hadwin shared her thoughts with the outlet. “I’ve always wanted to work on original songs and to be able to do that with the support of Syco while staying true to myself and the music I like is a dream come true. I can’t thank them enough for giving me this chance.”

“Courtney is an amazing artist,” Cowell said in a statement, per the outlet. “I will never forget her first audition on the show this year, and now we have the opportunity to work with her alongside Arista — it’s fantastic. We are all really excited about her future.“ Hadwin continued her music career full-time after the talent show concluded. As of 2024, she was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, New York, for The New York Pops 41st Birthday Gala alongside renowned artists like Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow and Busta Rhymes, as reported by Newcastle Magazine.