When 19-year-old Leon Lee stopped by Australia’ Got Talent for his audition back in 2013, no one thought he would be able to pull off a performance.
Hailing from Sydney, Lee studied real estate at the time, however, he shared that he also loves to sing in his bedroom.
At the time of the audition, he lived with his mom, which apparently makes great food. While Lee didn’t bring her to the audition with him, he brought his two best friends, Tia and Winky. The two provided great emotional support.
And he needed the emotional support, because while he handled it well, judges Kyle Sandilands, Geri Halliwell, Dawn French, and Timomatic scoffed at Lee right as he entered the stage. They questioned his big shoes and quirky personality from the very start, completely judging a book by its cover.
“Where do you normally sing?” Sandilands asked. “In my bedroom,” Lee responded modestly.
“That’s a big song to sing,” Sandilands said, seeming slightly worried when Lee said he’d be performing a rendition of “Dance With My Father” by Luther Vandross.
But little did they know, they were about to be blown away.
As soon as Lee opened his mouth and began to sing the slow, soulful tune, the crowd cheered loud and proud.
The judges were in pure shock, which you could tell from the look on their faces during his performance.
Timomatic’s jaw was on the ground. At one point during the performance, he even turned to his fellow judges and exclaimed, “what!” in complete disbelief.
Halliwell had a massive smile on her face the entire time. French began to clap for him before he was even done. Even Sandilands, who seemed to be the toughest nut to crack, had a slight smile on his face.
One member of the audience was seen wiping a tear from her eye.
When he finally finished, you bet he got a standing ovation. Along with the judges, the entire crowd was in complete shock and wanted nothing more than to cheer him on.
“Reveal your real self! Pull that mask off!” Sandilands exclaimed first before any of the other judges. Lee stayed humble and laughed a bit.
“I don’t know, a black lady possessed me or something,” Lee said, when the judges were trying to figure out where the hell all of that soul came from.
“Possessed! Possessed!” Timomatic said after that, pointing at Lee over and over again. “You have a chocolate voice, my brother. You were fantastic. Well done.”
“I love the black lady in you,” Sandilands added.
“I didn’t expect that kind of voice to come out of you. Brilliant,” French added before the audience once again chimed in with loud cheers.
“That was really impressive!” Halliwell screamed. “I like the way you look.” After she said that, the camera switched to Sandilands’ worried face, who clearly did not agree with her statement. “It’s so important to see someone just doing their own thing. I like that,” she explained.
Of course, he got a “yes” from all four judges, with French even saying that Lee has the potential to win the entire show.
The judges should have never judged Lee by his appearance, but we’re so happy they saw his talents and that he was rewarded for it at the end. Check out the full clip below!
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