Performing his own original song โParadise,โ the New Jersey native wowed the crowd with not just exceptional songwriting skills but also an incredible stage presence and vocal ability that belied his young age.
As he began to play the opening notes of โParadise,โ the room fell into a hushed anticipation. His voice, soulful and rich, had a haunting quality reminiscent ofย Lana Del Rey, drawing listeners into his imaginative world of โpurple cloudsโ and โautomatic lullabiesโ.
The judgesโ reactions were unanimously positive.ย Heidi Klumย was the first to speak, telling Journeyy, โIโm very impressed by you. Nine years old, your parents must be super proud of you. Iโm proud of you. I hope youโre proud of yourself. Very well done, you have a beautiful voice.โ Journeyyโs parents and sister stood in the wings, wiping tears away and nodding in agreement.
Sofia Vergara, clearly moved, stated, โI love you,โ prompting a giant grin from the young talent.
โI think this season we have so many cool kids. Super cool kids, youโre one of them,โ she enthused.ย Howie Mandel, always ready with a quip, joked, โA long time ago, I was nine years old for almost a year, and I think youโre amazing.โ
Simon Cowell, often the toughest critic, was full of praise. โYouโve just got it, havenโt you? I love hearing people write their own material. Itโs a glimpse into who you are, and I really like you. Great things are going to happen to you. I can feel it.โ He added, โYou are somebody who has a God-given talent. And itโs rare.โ
The impressive performance not only earned him a standing ovation but also four enthusiastic โyesโ votes from the judges, securing his place in the next round.
Journeyyโs path to โAmericaโs Got Talentโ was not just a lucky break. Simon Cowell revealed that one of his friends had discovered Journeyyโs talent online and recommended him to the show.
โA couple of days ago, โYouโve got to see this video.โ And it was you. Anyway, we sent the video to the production team and then we found out that theyโd already found you,โ Simon said.
Despite his young age, Journeyy has already garnered aย significant social media following, where his viral cover of Hillsong Unitedโs โOceansโ caught the attention of both fans and industry insiders, paving his way to the show.
Check out Journeyyโsย Americaโs Got Talentย performance below.
