Serena Rigacci is a young girl with a long list of accomplishments.
At only 11 years old, she took home first prize on Next Star Romania, using her powerful yet delicate voice to wow the crowds with ballads such as Tell Him and Come Saprei.
The beautiful blonde, who was born in Pisa, Italy, in 2003, began her 8-year musical career on the 4th season of Ti Lascio Una Canzone (I’m Leaving You A Song), an Italian musical variety show.
Here you can see her performing Silent Night with her fellow castmates.
Since those early days, Serena has seen great success, winning a variety of musical events and competitions, including Punto su di Te (Point on You), a Rai1 television series.
Nowadays, she’s 14 years old and making waves in Hungary, with her audition on the Hungarian X-Factor television series.
At about the 43-second mark you can see her performing while a stunned male judge returns to the judging table.
Although Serena is clearly no stranger to fame, one particular performance catapulted the beautiful teen into viral superstardom— at only 11 years old!
The video shows her auditioning for the Romanian Next Voice, a competition show similar to American Idol and X-Factor.
The 11-year-old could have played it safe in the competition, picking an easy song to perform.
Instead, however, she went in with a bang, taking on Whitney Houston’s famous I Will Always Love You.
As a young Serena takes the blue-lit stage and begins to sing, it only takes 2 words before the judges start smiling amongst themselves.
As the young girl sings the lyrics, she has a phenomenal control of her voice, mimicking the ups and downs of Whitney’s style impeccably. This song is known as one of Whitney Houston’s most technical and vocally challenging songs.
Just when you think Serena can’t get any better, the softness of the song takes a different turn when she hits the powerful chorus and sings the iconic line: “I will always love you.”
Hearing the power of her voice, the judges are completely floored, giving the 11-year-old songstress a standing ovation.
Then, when she hits the most powerful chorus, the audience roars with applause.
Check out Serena’s awe-inspiring performance below, and don’t forget to follow her journey on the upcoming episodes of the Hungarian X-Factor series, X-Faktor.
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