Performing his own original song βParadise,β 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 βParadise,β the room fell into a hushed anticipation. His voice, soulful and rich, had a haunting quality reminiscent ofΒ Lana Del Rey, drawing listeners into his imaginative world of βpurple cloudsβ and βautomatic lullabiesβ.
The judgesβ reactions were unanimously positive.Β Heidi KlumΒ was the first to speak, telling Journeyy, βIβm very impressed by you. Nine years old, your parents must be super proud of you. Iβm proud of you. I hope youβre proud of yourself. Very well done, you have a beautiful voice.β Journeyyβs parents and sister stood in the wings, wiping tears away and nodding in agreement.
Sofia Vergara, clearly moved, stated, βI love you,β prompting a giant grin from the young talent.
βI think this season we have so many cool kids. Super cool kids, youβre one of them,β she enthused.Β Howie Mandel, always ready with a quip, joked, βA long time ago, I was nine years old for almost a year, and I think youβre amazing.β
Simon Cowell, often the toughest critic, was full of praise. βYouβve just got it, havenβt you? I love hearing people write their own material. Itβs a glimpse into who you are, and I really like you. Great things are going to happen to you. I can feel it.β He added, βYou are somebody who has a God-given talent. And itβs rare.β
The impressive performance not only earned him a standing ovation but also four enthusiastic βyesβ votes from the judges, securing his place in the next round.
Journeyyβs path to βAmericaβs Got Talentβ was not just a lucky break. Simon Cowell revealed that one of his friends had discovered Journeyyβs talent online and recommended him to the show.
βA couple of days ago, βYouβve got to see this video.β And it was you. Anyway, we sent the video to the production team and then we found out that theyβd already found you,β Simon said.
Despite his young age, Journeyy has already garnered aΒ significant social media following, where his viral cover of Hillsong Unitedβs βOceansβ caught the attention of both fans and industry insiders, paving his way to the show.
Check out JourneyyβsΒ Americaβs Got TalentΒ performance below.