Christian Guardino, a 17-year-old who was born almost blind, is one of this yearโs golden buzzer contestants on Americaโs Got Talent.
Christianโs powerful rendition of the Jackson 5โs 1969 hit โWhoโs Lovinโ Youโ stunned viewers and gained a standing ovation from the judges and the crowd.
Although he was born with poor eyesight, Christian has been singing for as long as he can remember.
His mother tells the Patchogue Patch how he started humming Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at 5-months-old. They would sing scales back and forth during his baths. Christian says, โMusic was always my escape. When I was dealing with my condition, it was a way to forget everything that was happening.โ
Christian even credits his vision impairment for his musical skills, telling EW:
โMy hearing was strengthened because of my eyesight. I hear music in a strong way. Itโs always been there for me.โ
At the age of 12, Christian underwent a revolutionary gene therapy treatment. It helped him regain most of his visionโ a fact which makes his AGT experience all the more memorable. Without the gene therapy, he tells EW, โI would have never been able to see it.โ
And the performance was definitely something to see.
Astonished fans flocked to Twitter, tweeting their reactions to Christianโs passionate delivery of โโWhoโs Lovinโ You.โ
Speechless. He did that. @ChristianGuardino #AGT pic.twitter.com/2ZBqMQLF5T
โ IKantEvenToday (@IKantEvenToday) June 14, 2017
CHRISTIAN GUARDINO IDK IF THATS HOW YOU SPELL IT BUT I WANT HIM TO WIN IT ALL ALREADY #AGT
โ bobby (@bobby_brinks) June 14, 2017
After Christianโs soulful performance, judge Melanie Brown tells him, โYouโre like a bright light that just showed us all.โ The young crooner even manages to impress Simon Cowell, who says:
โYou were like a mouse who turned into a lion. You are one of my favorite contestants Iโve seen this year.โ
Howie Mandell asks the teen what he would choose if he could have one wish to make any dream come true. โRight this second?โ Christian asks. โProbably the golden buzzer.โ
โWell,โ Howie answers before reaching across the table to push the buzzer, โyour wish just came true.โ
Howie pushing the golden buzzer means that Christian is going straight to the Americaโs Got Talent live performances alongside deaf singer Mandy Harvey, the singing ventriloquist Darci Lynne, and the Light Dancers dance troupe. In an interview with the Patchogue Patch, Christianโs mother Beth describes the experience as surreal:
โIt was like watching our story come full circle. To see where our struggles were, and where weโve arrived, itโs a miracle.โ
If you want to see how Christian progresses through this yearโs competition, be sure to tune into NBC on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8/7 central to catch the latest episodes of Americaโs Got Talent.
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