10-Year-Old Performs Celine Dion's Hit Song For Audition — Simon Cowell's Eye Rolling Soon Turn Into Surprise

Jan 30, 2022 by apost team

Sometimes, the biggest surprises come in the smallest packages. This rings true with a little girl from Hong Kong who shook everyone during her audition for the twelfth season of "America’s Got Talent" back in 2017.

A then-nine-year-old Celine Tam, who looked even younger than her actual age, performed a rendition of her namesake Celine Dion’s hit, My Heart Will Go On. Her incredible singing skill especially shocked judge Simon Cowell who underestimated Celine just based on his first impression of her.

Simon Cowell has rightfully earned his reputation for being a tough, opinionated judge on top talent shows, and he also has a knack for identifying truly talented individuals. Cowell showed signs of having a good critical eye from a young age. When he was just four years old, he told his mother that she looked “like a poodle,” wearing a white furry pillbox hat. His first impression of then nine-year-old Celine Tam may have been lackluster, but this talented little lady got the audience to their feet in seconds and caught Simon's eye in the process.

Celine Tam is appropriately named after her favorite musical artist, Celine Dion. Celine Dion is one of the most impressive musical powerhouses of our time, and many adults who try to sing her songs on shows like "America’s Got Talent" pale in comparison. However, young Celine proved herself worthy of singing the great Celine Dion’s songs almost as soon as she started her performance on stage. It isn't often that Cowell is completely blown away by a performance, but when he is, it is for an extraordinary performance like Celine's! 

She chose to sing "My Heart Will Go On" which was one of the first Celine Dion songs that her parents ever heard her sing. At the audition, she explained to judge Mel B that she was in the car with her dad when she randomly belted out the song from the movie "Titanic." Since then, her father, who is a vocal coach, decided to train her in singing. Her parents admitted that they were huge Celine Dion fans and that their daughter was actually named after her. They were not prepared for their little Celine to have musical prowess to rival Dion’s. Over the years, they recognized and nurtured their daughter’s vocal talent. With all of their time, energy, and effort, Celine Tam finally got her chance to prove her impressive skills on "America’s Got Talent."

Once she started singing this Celine Dion song on stage, the audience quickly recognized the girl’s talent and rose to their feet. After the performance, it was clear that her talent wowed the judges as well. Altogether, Celine Tam sang a truly challenging song flawlessly. Her sweet yet powerful voice was perfectly emotional yet polished and precise.

South China Morning Post reported that Celine’s audition video was the top trending YouTube video of 2017 in her native of Hong Kong. South China Morning Post added the video was 40 times more popular than the next competitor video in terms of view count. Not only that, but her audition was also named as one of the top 15 most viral moments of "America’s Got Talent" of all time. 

apost.com

According to Gold Derby, the show unveiled its top 15 viral moments in commemoration of its 15th anniversary. Celine Tam was delighted by the news, as she wrote in a caption on Instagram:

“WOW! It's honestly just a real shock for me, to be able to make it up as one of the the Top 15 America's Got Talent Auditions for their 15th anniversary!! What a journey it has been for me! Looking back at that video gives me chills, I can't honestly thank the judges and the amazing fans out there who has supported me along the way! Out of ALL the auditions and I was one of them, this is just incredible to think about! Thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so so much!”

When she advanced to the Judge Cuts, guest judge Laverne Cox awarded Celine with the coveted Golden Buzzer after her impressive rendition of Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." Celine was visibly shocked by it as gold confetti rained on her while she stood eyes wide open and mouth agape on stage. Her parents were part of the audience who cheered uproariously for the little girl’s achievement. Her mother was in tears.

Celine would go on to the Quarterfinals where she performed her version of Whitney Houston's and Mariah Carey's "When You Believe" which made judge Heidi Klum give her a standing ovation. At the Semifinals, Celine sang "How Far I'll Go," the soundtrack of Disney’s Moana. But even though she received a standing ovation from Klum yet again, Celine did not receive enough votes for her to advance to the final round of the competition. 

According to Celine’s America’s Got Talent wiki, "America’s Got Talent" is not her first nor her only "Got Talent" rodeo. A year before, she had auditioned for the tenth season of "Britain’s Got Talent" and although she passed the auditions, she did not enter the live show and neither was her audition televised. And then last year, Celine competed in "World’s Got Talent" which was held in China. This was where Celine received her second golden buzzer which sent her to the top eight in the competition. She did well in the competition but did not make the top two.

Celine and her family continue to share a mutual passion and love of Celine Dion songs. It is not surprising to learn that Celine's mom and dad have aptly named little’ Celine’s baby sister Dion. Dion is five years younger than Celine and even though we haven’t seen the now eight-year-old Dion conquering the singing stage like her big sister, she seemed to show promise in the realm of magic, as seen in a video posted to Celine’s Facebook page where Dion performed a card trick backstage on "America’s Got Talent."

According to Celine’s Instagram bio, she was born on November 22nd, 2007, making her 14 years old currently. Not only does she sing wonderfully, but she is also able to play the piano. It is wonderful to see such incredible talent in such a young girl! We are sure that Celine will go on to inspire thousands of other young people who want to achieve their dreams. 

Did Celine's performance blow you away? What do you think about her family's obsession with Celine Dion? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to show this video to your friends and loved ones - Celine's voice needs to be heard!