Everybody needs to watch out for this young Joplin in the making

“You’re from a whole different era”,

America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel told 13-year-old contestant Courtney Hadwin as she transformed from a shy bashful girl to a wild firey rockstar once the music played and she started singing. Teenagers nowadays may be more inclined to listen to mainstream pop and sing Top 40 hits but not this young girl from Britain. Hadwin belts out rock songs of the 70s. And boy oh boy can she definitely rock it out. Once she gets on the groove, she makes jaws drop. And that’s exactly what she did to the talent show’s judges when she came out and sang and danced like she got a bit of Joplin in her. She impressed the audience and the judges so much so that she received the coveted golden buzzer from Howie Mandel.

Hadwin’s stage presence and unique voice and dance moves certainly makes her stand out from the competition. Even infamous mean judge Simon Cowell was peppering the young singer with praise, saying

“You were this shy little thing when you first came out,” he said, “and then you sing and you’re like a lion. Genuinely incredible.”

Howie Mandel even referenced a story from a Janis Joplin documentary,  sharing that he was a big fan of Janis Joplin’, “Clive Davis, he goes to the Monterey Pop Festival, and he sees this young girl that nobody has ever seen before, that nobody knows,” he said. “It was the first time Janis Joplin got signed, and that changed her life.”

Hadwin did make it to the finals, but sadly and controversially did not win the competition. However, she has been invited to compete again in AGT Champions, and she’s back with more power and strength to her skills. She performed an original rock song in her come-back performance.

See Courtney Hadwin’s Joplinesque performance below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Llt5E8YDE