When 13-year-old Courtney Hadwin got onto the America’s Got Talent stage, she looked dreadfully timid. She murmured gently, avoiding eye contact, and told the judges she was a frightened schoolgirl from a little village in England. No one in the room could predict what would happen next.
As soon as the band started playing Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” Courtney changed. The shy adolescent disappeared, to be replaced by a full-fledged rock vocalist with a gruff, raspy voice that sounded like it belonged in the late 1960s, stomping across the stage with frantic, jerky dancing gestures. In a matter of seconds, the audience turned from courteous interest to raucous acclaim.
The judges were equally taken away. When she sang, Simon Cowell characterized her as “like a lion,” and Howie Mandel likened her to a young Janis Joplin who was first spotted. Howie crushed the Golden Buzzer, sending Courtney straight to the live performances as gold confetti fell down and the crowd went crazy, awed by the sheer energy and individuality of her performance.
As evidence that sometimes the quietest kid in the room is actually the loudest rock star waiting to be released, her audition went on to receive tens of millions of views online and is now recognized as one of the most explosive Golden Buzzer moments in AGT history.
