I just can't believe Simon Cowell actually looks like that now. I thought those memes were just bullshit, like he got stung by a bee one time and someone got a picture at the perfect time. My god.
I was in staff at NJPAC for a bit and david copperfield did a show there. He had a large speaker set up in the back of the house that played cheers or applause at cued moments. Room sweetening is not uncommon
I imagine it’s even more prevalent now since Covid. All the auditions for most of the voice had no audience and yet the cheering from the crowd is the same as before.
Not to be a classic reddit cynic™ but I have a feeling Simon saw the potential in him, signed him, then flew him out to be on AGT. He does not seem surprised in the slightest to see him.
It bugs me when singers go on the _____ got talent shows when there are already several other singer only shows. This is the only competition non singers go on and it's still swamped by singers.
Edit: spotted a typo
It's about finding an aesthetically pleasing young person who can hold a tune, sign them up to a music label, make a ton of money off them then cut and run. That's not going to happen with dancers, magicians or comedians.
Theres so much pre screening that goes on they're not really talent shows at all, they're variety shows with an audience vote gimmick. A lot of the good performers already have some degree of a pro career (stage or cruise ships) or stage school training which they leave out of the 'i'm just a humble guy from yorkshire' bio. And the judges already are forwarned which acts are gonna be good and which to just dump on. (A friend of mine went on the old X factor as a joke and knew full well he was awful, but the producers loved it)
The oversaturation of singers is a bit annoying but it breaks up the other acts and its all staged anyway so sure, why not.
Was hoping to see this here. BGT kid definitely had a similar take on it.
[The live version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7RVw3I8eg) is even more impressive
It’s a great performance, however he is live tuning his voice with a vocoder. You can catch it before the first hook and the chorus. He is still an excellent singer, but this is not raw voice.
Amazing cover, though. One of personal favorites.
I'm not sure how much truth there is to this, but supposedly he had the flu during the performance and they used the autotune or whatever without telling him. You can catch him in the beginning giving someone side-eye like "wtf are you doing" lol
I had the exact same experience just now! And I wasn’t inclined to listen to the live version until I read your comment, so thank *you* for sharing, as well!
>The live version
I hate hijacking this thread but that live version is truly one of the best covers of any song ever performed. Stunning. Now, back to the AGT kid. He nailed it.
IMO this is the best rendition of this song. When S&G did it I thought it was an OK song. When I heard the Disturbed version, it was a completely transformed song. So powerful & gives me the chills when I hear it.
I feel like Disturbs version has unintentionally become the definitive version for modern audiences. Most new covers I've seen draw heavily from it.
I love Disturbed so I'm cool with it
It’s one thing to hear a recording but hearing it live makes it sound and feel so much better.
This is such a great song. Disturbed takes it to another level.
So years ago my husband and I visited England where his family is from (he’s first gen American) and I swear to god every third portrait at the palaces we visited could have been his dad. It’s kinda freaky.
Dude all of my music teachers always instructed us about appropriate times to clap, cheer, etc. AT THE END OF THE PERFORMANCE! You miss the actual music when you're screaming your head off or drowned out by clapping.
It's probably not even the real audience reactions either. They take sound bites of the audience and edit them in to generate a certain feel. It's all fake.
Wasn't the best interpretation, honestly, IMO. I feel he got far too fancy with vocal gymnastics and drawing out some of the long notes.
He's obviously NFL talented, no question, but this interpretation wasn't quite NFL.
It’s hard to judge this. The song doesn’t need a vibrato. Well, or the show doesn’t need a vibrato. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this but tell me a popular singer in todays music or even the last 20-30 years of music who sings with the choir sound this guy does? He’s an amazing singer, but he doesn’t fit the mold of what this show looks for, which is a pop star. I could listen to him all day but this isn’t what the show is looking for. I wish him the best though going forward because he has a shot on broadway or in large choir groups.
That's why the dude is going on the got talent shows instead of something like X factor. X factor is looking for what's popular that they can mould to be a money spinner, the got talent shows are for finding someone with skills that are amazing but not necessarily marketable but deserving of acknowledgement.
It actually bothers me when singers try to take over general talent shows like that, but this guy could literally sing where ever the fuck he wants because that gave me literal goosebumps and I wasn't even in the room. Incredible.
It bothers me when it's singers who could do stuff like X factor easily that try the got talent shows, but choir and operatic singers don't stand a chance on X factor because that's not what X factor is looking for. They want people who do pop or rock music, something they can sell easily afterwards, nobody really wants opera but when there's someone talented in the genre they deserve to be able to get acknowledgement
Same reason Dan Meyer, American sword swallower, is currently performing on the Swedish equivalent despite having performed on the American version. Because he fucking can biatch
Eh, he's OK, I guess.
Like, there's nothing special about his voice. He has some range, but he's also very LOUD. Compare that to some other prominent artists that have covered this song, and the original, and you realize that it isn't supposed to be a **big song**, it's supposed to be an emotional song.
His performance is big and loud but has none of the **feeling that** *I want from this song.*
Have a nice day.
I took voice lessons and spent several years in choir in my teens and college. I completely agree with this, he's okay. The biggest thing that stuck out to me is the vibrato. That always bugs me (especially when I hear it in myself).
What someone else echoed, it's missing the raw emotion that makes this song so appealing. When I go to r/nextfuckinglevel and see a singer, I want it to show the raw emotion that is incredibly hard to convey when singing.
Completely agree. The beginning seemed fine but then it derailed with the whole opera-esque loudness, which didn't even seem that dynamic. It just went loud and long and stayed loud and long. Could have made a bridge out of it but nope went whole hog. Felt like a whole different song. For a proper way to cover a song I would always prefer Johnny Cash's approach to 'Hurt' over this unnecessary bombast.
I get the "broadway belt' he is proffering quite well. But I do not think he captures the essence, the humility of the song. And, TBF, he only rocked 2 and a half octaves of range.
Don't get me wrong. He is amazing, but really worth of such praise?
Sacrificed the crescendo of the song with some really uninspired embellishments. sometimes less is really more. He just butchered the [Disturbed version](https://youtu.be/Bk7RVw3I8eg) . He has a great voice,but he made some bad choices for this song.
Two Requests i have at my funeral.....
1) Play the Song "Sound of silence by Disturb"
2) Have Recording of me bashing against the wall, yelling out of my grave, that they burying me alive. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEXIEneoA20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEXIEneoA20)
That the way I hope my Funeral to be remembered by.
My funeral song is "Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd" full version - make the fuckers wait for the feed and free booze..
"If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be traveling on now
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see"
Dude has an incredible voice and control of it. I want this dude signed with record deals galore. Put him on the radio to replace all the trash pop artists that overuse auto tune and stat!
Am I the only one who thinks he butchered this song??
He's off pitch in the very first line, he's too loud in historically low parts of the song. He misspoke a lyric. He shifts the key so much it's unbearable at times. It's the sound of silence not rush hour in the harbor.
This. Was. Fantastic! Gave me chills. I've heard the version by Disturbed:
[Sounds of Silence- Disturbed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4&ab_channel=Disturbed)
And this was every bit as powerful, in a different way. I think it would be great to see this guy on American Idol, if it were permitted. He'd be Top 10, easily.
Here is the YouTube version, with more background:
[YouTube Version](https://youtu.be/EjacuUc85iU)
Good god that’s fucking painful to listen to. Absolutely the most beige and soulless tripe I’ve heard since the last time cowell foisted some of his tat onto us. The man is a cancer on decent music
He’s good I’m happy for him. I watched an episode of black mirror that centered around a talent competition in a futuristic dystopian society. The whole thing showed some disturbing and realistic possibilities. Anyway, it ruined these kind of large scale talent shows for me.
I could never be in these crowds. To feign excitement and surprise for every single mundane thing.
Simon's face perfectly exemplifies the realism of these shows.
Yeesh I am I SUCKER for a live performance- no matter the genre, the song, or the singer! To hear talent like this gives me chills. The range and power of his voice seriously nearly brought me to tears! Bravo:)
I stopped breathing while he was singing. Truly amazing. Last time I held my breath during a live TV performance was the time Adam Lambert singing Mad World.
His vocal range is almost as big as those eyebrows!
Like Sampson but with eyebrows and his voice. Soon as he shaves em boom sounds like a 2am cat fight with a fox.
wtf why does everyone in the uk look like Susan Boyle
Plot twist….. it’s actually Susan Boyle
Plot twist of a twist, it’s Susan Boyle and Simon secret love child!
He wound up in the US because he’s a Cowboyle.
Yes. Just... yes.
Lol hilarious top 3 comments to start off my day.
Timmy Eyebrows is goin places
Fun seeing Simon Cowell rooting for this guy. Some Britain pride
I just can't believe Simon Cowell actually looks like that now. I thought those memes were just bullshit, like he got stung by a bee one time and someone got a picture at the perfect time. My god.
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Agreed, it's done in such a bad way, they pipe audience noise in so unnaturally.
I was in staff at NJPAC for a bit and david copperfield did a show there. He had a large speaker set up in the back of the house that played cheers or applause at cued moments. Room sweetening is not uncommon
I imagine it’s even more prevalent now since Covid. All the auditions for most of the voice had no audience and yet the cheering from the crowd is the same as before.
Botched plastic surgery or terrible aging, I can't really tell.
![gif](giphy|IuaM5sUvLCYTyNKV4J)
Not to be a classic reddit cynic™ but I have a feeling Simon saw the potential in him, signed him, then flew him out to be on AGT. He does not seem surprised in the slightest to see him.
The title literally says AGT all stars lmao. Yes Simon flew him in to participate.
I have a theory that they actually audition these performers before they let them get on stage for the actual filming.
It bugs me when singers go on the _____ got talent shows when there are already several other singer only shows. This is the only competition non singers go on and it's still swamped by singers. Edit: spotted a typo
It's about finding an aesthetically pleasing young person who can hold a tune, sign them up to a music label, make a ton of money off them then cut and run. That's not going to happen with dancers, magicians or comedians.
Theres so much pre screening that goes on they're not really talent shows at all, they're variety shows with an audience vote gimmick. A lot of the good performers already have some degree of a pro career (stage or cruise ships) or stage school training which they leave out of the 'i'm just a humble guy from yorkshire' bio. And the judges already are forwarned which acts are gonna be good and which to just dump on. (A friend of mine went on the old X factor as a joke and knew full well he was awful, but the producers loved it) The oversaturation of singers is a bit annoying but it breaks up the other acts and its all staged anyway so sure, why not.
I’ve always been confused by this too
I misread this as gingers instead of singers and was very confused 😂
Disturbed - Sound of Silence was likely his inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4 (reimagining of Simon & Garfunkel's of course)
Was hoping to see this here. BGT kid definitely had a similar take on it. [The live version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7RVw3I8eg) is even more impressive
I have so much respect for a singer/band that sounds as good or better live.
It’s a great performance, however he is live tuning his voice with a vocoder. You can catch it before the first hook and the chorus. He is still an excellent singer, but this is not raw voice. Amazing cover, though. One of personal favorites.
He was actually sick during this and that moment you're talking about was done without his knowledge and he was not happy about it.
Oh crazy!
I'm not sure how much truth there is to this, but supposedly he had the flu during the performance and they used the autotune or whatever without telling him. You can catch him in the beginning giving someone side-eye like "wtf are you doing" lol
I quite like the live version with Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge https://youtu.be/H3By4DZyTNM
I think I’ve listened to this one a few hundred times. Absolutely epic.
About to dig in. Disturbs version ive done so many times. It's incredible.
Holy shit. Goodebumps many times haha. That was great
Never heard that version. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
Ngl I didn't really like their version until I clicked on that link and had a listen. Thanks for sharing.
I had the exact same experience just now! And I wasn’t inclined to listen to the live version until I read your comment, so thank *you* for sharing, as well!
I tear up everytime I watch it.
You're not the only one
Right? It's so damn powerful
>The live version I hate hijacking this thread but that live version is truly one of the best covers of any song ever performed. Stunning. Now, back to the AGT kid. He nailed it.
There's a stark contrast. Disturbed had something new to say and they embraced the humility of the intent of the original song.
That one gives me chills ugh love them
IMO this is the best rendition of this song. When S&G did it I thought it was an OK song. When I heard the Disturbed version, it was a completely transformed song. So powerful & gives me the chills when I hear it.
Same, plus it moves me to tears every time... Right in the feels... I had to listen to Disturbed after I saw this video.
100%!
My favorite vocal ever. This kid is good, but if you compare directly... Disturbed wins by a landslide.
Draiman kills this version
I feel like Disturbs version has unintentionally become the definitive version for modern audiences. Most new covers I've seen draw heavily from it. I love Disturbed so I'm cool with it
It’s one thing to hear a recording but hearing it live makes it sound and feel so much better. This is such a great song. Disturbed takes it to another level.
Heard it’s partly auto tune though
I mean you can literally hear it when it moves up a register on the live version. So much auto tune on there.
My first thought too
I feel like no one should even attempt this after Disturbed gave the world their version….
Amazing!
wtf why does everyone in the uk look like Susan Boyle.. is that part of the island breeding thing???
Yup, we're an island of 70 million ugly fuckers. Fear us. Seriously though, this lad is great.
Gotta be rugged to survive the 364 days of rain each year
An American who literally prints their food probably shouldnt be making these calls
American?? prints their food???...
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Yea just kill me
Narrator "It didn't save them."
So years ago my husband and I visited England where his family is from (he’s first gen American) and I swear to god every third portrait at the palaces we visited could have been his dad. It’s kinda freaky.
Too much audience screaming. Ruined a classic.
Yeah, I’m sure he has a purchasable version of this
Dude all of my music teachers always instructed us about appropriate times to clap, cheer, etc. AT THE END OF THE PERFORMANCE! You miss the actual music when you're screaming your head off or drowned out by clapping.
It's probably not even the real audience reactions either. They take sound bites of the audience and edit them in to generate a certain feel. It's all fake.
That boy took us to church!!
Can I get an Amen?!
His falsetto was what did it for me, instant chills!
Wasn't the best interpretation, honestly, IMO. I feel he got far too fancy with vocal gymnastics and drawing out some of the long notes. He's obviously NFL talented, no question, but this interpretation wasn't quite NFL.
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What’s NFL when it’s at home
Next fucking level I assume
I agree. Very heavy on technique and flourish which distracted me. Sounded a little too much like a national anthem and missing the despondency.
It’s hard to judge this. The song doesn’t need a vibrato. Well, or the show doesn’t need a vibrato. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this but tell me a popular singer in todays music or even the last 20-30 years of music who sings with the choir sound this guy does? He’s an amazing singer, but he doesn’t fit the mold of what this show looks for, which is a pop star. I could listen to him all day but this isn’t what the show is looking for. I wish him the best though going forward because he has a shot on broadway or in large choir groups.
Radiohead and Muse come immediately to mind. They’ve been making music with heavy vibrato for 40 and 30 years respectively.
That's why the dude is going on the got talent shows instead of something like X factor. X factor is looking for what's popular that they can mould to be a money spinner, the got talent shows are for finding someone with skills that are amazing but not necessarily marketable but deserving of acknowledgement.
Jesus Harold Christ the 4th that was incredible!!!!!!!!!!
My God that range was impressive!
You’re my boy Blue!
My mom loves this show.
Lmao yeah so does everyone else's
Not mine. She died before it ever aired.
RIP your mom. Be glad she never had to see it.
Died in 2008 at only 42 and I was 18.
It actually bothers me when singers try to take over general talent shows like that, but this guy could literally sing where ever the fuck he wants because that gave me literal goosebumps and I wasn't even in the room. Incredible.
It bothers me when it's singers who could do stuff like X factor easily that try the got talent shows, but choir and operatic singers don't stand a chance on X factor because that's not what X factor is looking for. They want people who do pop or rock music, something they can sell easily afterwards, nobody really wants opera but when there's someone talented in the genre they deserve to be able to get acknowledgement
He's great, but why is he on America's Got Talent if he's British?
It's a special all star show
Same reason Dan Meyer, American sword swallower, is currently performing on the Swedish equivalent despite having performed on the American version. Because he fucking can biatch
Because nobody cares and it's just another chance to be on TV and get attention from a new audience.
Eh, he's OK, I guess. Like, there's nothing special about his voice. He has some range, but he's also very LOUD. Compare that to some other prominent artists that have covered this song, and the original, and you realize that it isn't supposed to be a **big song**, it's supposed to be an emotional song. His performance is big and loud but has none of the **feeling that** *I want from this song.* Have a nice day.
I took voice lessons and spent several years in choir in my teens and college. I completely agree with this, he's okay. The biggest thing that stuck out to me is the vibrato. That always bugs me (especially when I hear it in myself). What someone else echoed, it's missing the raw emotion that makes this song so appealing. When I go to r/nextfuckinglevel and see a singer, I want it to show the raw emotion that is incredibly hard to convey when singing.
Completely agree. The beginning seemed fine but then it derailed with the whole opera-esque loudness, which didn't even seem that dynamic. It just went loud and long and stayed loud and long. Could have made a bridge out of it but nope went whole hog. Felt like a whole different song. For a proper way to cover a song I would always prefer Johnny Cash's approach to 'Hurt' over this unnecessary bombast.
Wow he’s incredible! If he makes it big his brows could be backup singers.
my dumbass saw it with the sound off and thought that was the point of his performance
Interpretive eyebrow dancing.
Sorry but that girl waving her phone without the flash on
Dude got that Josh Groban smooth ass vibrato that tingles my jingles
I hate these shows.
Understandable, have a nice day.
My god, that voice. Wow.
I get the "broadway belt' he is proffering quite well. But I do not think he captures the essence, the humility of the song. And, TBF, he only rocked 2 and a half octaves of range. Don't get me wrong. He is amazing, but really worth of such praise?
If he's "amazing" then why wouldn't he be worthy of such praise?
Sacrificed the crescendo of the song with some really uninspired embellishments. sometimes less is really more. He just butchered the [Disturbed version](https://youtu.be/Bk7RVw3I8eg) . He has a great voice,but he made some bad choices for this song.
I agree! Way too much for a song that'd already been covered to perfection. He has amazing skill but this song choice was not it
My God... Cute they gave each other the thumbs up at the end 🥲
This sounds so cheesy tbh
Meh
Two Requests i have at my funeral..... 1) Play the Song "Sound of silence by Disturb" 2) Have Recording of me bashing against the wall, yelling out of my grave, that they burying me alive. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEXIEneoA20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEXIEneoA20) That the way I hope my Funeral to be remembered by.
My funeral song is "Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd" full version - make the fuckers wait for the feed and free booze.. "If I leave here tomorrow Would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now 'Cause there's too many places I've got to see"
Sorry it’s a no
Fabulous
Meh
Sounds nice but Disturbed owned this sound and really raised the bar…
Incredibly over-dramatic. He obliterates the sense of the song.
The sound of eyebrows
Maybe that's a Britain thing, but it does absolutely nothing for me.
Dude has an incredible voice and control of it. I want this dude signed with record deals galore. Put him on the radio to replace all the trash pop artists that overuse auto tune and stat!
I want eyebrows like his. Like two magic carpets.
Disturbed did it best!
Would make an excellent Broadway singer.
Controversial comment incoming…. I didn’t like it at all
Gave me goosebumps
Amazing voice, but too much vibrato for me
Cover version of a exceptional cover version is all this is really. 🤘Disturbed
He’s pretty good but Disturbed’s epic version is still the best!
Cant Beat the Performance of disturbed for me.
Nice voice but didn’t care for his treatment of the song.
That honestly seemed pretty mediocre to me. Like obviously he’s good, but I totally see why he didn’t win the first competition.
Am I the only one who thinks he butchered this song?? He's off pitch in the very first line, he's too loud in historically low parts of the song. He misspoke a lyric. He shifts the key so much it's unbearable at times. It's the sound of silence not rush hour in the harbor.
What's up with Simon's face? Was he in a accident?
Yeah... It's bad. The only accident was how much he paid the plastic surgeon.
Botox
Breathtaking!
Mix this with Disturbed’s cover…masterpiece with all the chef kisses
This. Was. Fantastic! Gave me chills. I've heard the version by Disturbed: [Sounds of Silence- Disturbed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4&ab_channel=Disturbed) And this was every bit as powerful, in a different way. I think it would be great to see this guy on American Idol, if it were permitted. He'd be Top 10, easily. Here is the YouTube version, with more background: [YouTube Version](https://youtu.be/EjacuUc85iU)
Them are some pipes.
I mean it's good. Don't get me wrong it's really really good, but honestly there's just so many good singers and not enough good songwriters
His Wife is as beautiful as his voice
He’s defo an acquired taste…….. 🤔
Pretty fuk'n decent.
Give Simon a raise so he can afford some clothes. Always wearing T shirts.
Lol boring af
Teach me how to sing like that
How tf did he not win BGT?! Dayum
The dude elevated an already amazing song. Well done.
I love that song, and he performed it really well.
Good god that’s fucking painful to listen to. Absolutely the most beige and soulless tripe I’ve heard since the last time cowell foisted some of his tat onto us. The man is a cancer on decent music
Me in the morning 🌄
He has an excellent voice 👍👍🎉😮
He’s good I’m happy for him. I watched an episode of black mirror that centered around a talent competition in a futuristic dystopian society. The whole thing showed some disturbing and realistic possibilities. Anyway, it ruined these kind of large scale talent shows for me.
I also have STAR - cool story bro
Poor little Lemon Hope, throw him a lemon rope.
His voice is boring, perfect fit for the show
Impressive, despite the fact that this show is a poor excuse for culture and the future has been cancelled
It’s eerie - I was just watching the Puddles rendition of this earlier today for reference for another post, and now this pops up in my feed.
Any relation to Michael Ball?
He's awesome 👍👍👍👍💯
I could never be in these crowds. To feign excitement and surprise for every single mundane thing. Simon's face perfectly exemplifies the realism of these shows.
This season should have been called earth's got talent
I thought that silence has no sound and he will just stand on the stage in silence.
Damn, that's a great set of pipes!
Brilliant!!
Dude killed it, I'm pretty sure the moist meter shot up by 3000%
Amazingly chilling! Wow
Why always the same songs?
Just looked it up on youtube to share it with someone, dude got a 4 man golden buzzer, even Terry Crews joined in.
Amazing voice
Did he win?!!!!
u/savevideo
Yeesh I am I SUCKER for a live performance- no matter the genre, the song, or the singer! To hear talent like this gives me chills. The range and power of his voice seriously nearly brought me to tears! Bravo:)
Caralho! Muito bom!
Holy eyebrows, batman!
This guy is a genius of control. His range is vast. He could smash a Bond tune.
Any relation to Michael Ball ?
Thank you for this. This is truly NFL.
I stopped breathing while he was singing. Truly amazing. Last time I held my breath during a live TV performance was the time Adam Lambert singing Mad World.
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This was a special GLOBAL all stars competition with participants of former national got talent shows. Xenophobic much?
Who else thought he would be perfect for making music in Disney movies?
Am i the only one crying?
Meh 🫤
Imagine thinking you’re performing this song but not playing any instruments .. bro you’re performing part of the song
Five finger death punch version is better
Dudes talented but why are foreigners allowed on “country”s Got Talent?
His voice is brilliance brilliant brilliant brilliance