16-year-old Michael Rice was a fish and chip shop worker from Hartlepool, England. “You stink of fish all the time,” Rice timidly shared about his job with Simon.
A young boy with a big dream — and an even bigger voice!
In 2014, on week 2 of the room auditions for The X Factor UK, Rice marched in to sing and a cappella rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You.” It was a risky move, considering just how talented and legendary Houston is. It is hard for even the best vocalists to do her justice.
When Rice revealed that was the song he would be singing, even the judges took a step back and asked if he was actually going to do that. Audience members silently shrieked.
Yet, it seems like Rice’s bold move paid off big time.
Singing solo in front of the judges is scary enough. Add one of the most challenging songs into the mix and it definitely does not get easier.
As Rice interacted with the judges, he came off quite quiet and shy, which was quite the opposite of his singing capabilities. As Rice began to sing and show off his true talent, he belted out each note on point with a ton of emotion. You can see the disbelief on the impressed judges’ faces.
As the camera pans from Simon Cowell to Cheryl to Louis Walsh to Mel B, they all look completely stunned.
“I look to you… I need you to set me free… Take me away,” Rice belts out perfectly.
He took this classic, challenging ballad and performed it with complete grace and ease. It all appeared to be pretty seamless.
Within five seconds of his rendition, the judges’ jaws were all dropped in awe. Simon and Mel B exchanged looks in complete agreement that Rice was clearly the next big thing.
As his family watched from the other room with much anticipation, they even shed a few tears.
After he sang, Louis admitted he was not expecting that at all, “when you walked in, said you work at a fish and chips shop… then you turned into Whitney! You’re really good!”
“Wow. You’ve got some power in there, haven’t you?” Cheryl said. “You’re like a little diva. I think you’re a really fantastic singer.”
“SMASHED IT!” Mel B exclaimed with excitement. “You’ve got the range to just kill any of these big ballads.”
“You’re like our little fish and chip shop diva, aren’t you?” Simon said. “There’s some tough competition…” he warned, but at the end, they all said yes.
“Michael, you have taken us to church,” Simon concluded.
After the good news, Rice ran out and hugged all of his friends and family in pure excitement. It’s all just proof to not judge a book by its cover — just because you are a soft-spoken fish and chips worker doesn’t mean you can’t also be Whitney Houston!
We hope Michael Rice continues to follow his dreams!
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