Courtney Hadwin is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to fame by competing prominently on ITV's '' The Voice Kids UK 2017'' and the 13th season of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

competition show '' America's Got Talent''.

Early and personal life

She lives in Hesleden, with her parents, younger sister Melissa, and younger brother Paul. She attended Hesleden Primary School and until autumn 2018 studied at The Academy at Shotton Hall in

Peterlee Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also cre ...

. She has also trained at Shotton Hall Theatre School, Peanuts Master Classes, Kate Sirs School of Music and Julie Miles' Vocal Ovation. Hadwin was a 2018 finalist on TV's '' America's Got Talent''. She previously appeared on the first series of ''

The Voice Kids ''The Voice Kids'' is a version of ''The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate. Versions The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants: : Franchise wi ...

'' in the UK and afterwards on '' America's Got Talent: The Champions''.

Career

Early performances

In April 2015, Hadwin auditioned for her first singing competition at TeenStar in Newcastle, England, with her version of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

Make You Feel My Love "Make You Feel My Love", also known as "To Make You Feel My Love" is a song written by Bob Dylan for his album '' Time Out of Mind'', released in September 1997. It was first released commercially in August 1997 by Billy Joel for his compilation ...

", and reached the competition's grand final. She also gained notice when she was filmed performing Great Big World and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

's soaring duet " Say Something" in September 2015. In April 2016, she won Hartlepool's Performer of the Year Award, and was a finalist in the Beyond The Lights award ceremony. She was the opening act for Sister Sledge at a

South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear – Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the no ...

Festival concert in July 2017, where she sang for more than 18,000 people. In January 2018, she sang in Southampton at an event for U-Support, raising funds for children with life-limiting illnesses and disabilities.

2017: The Voice Kids UK

Hadwin blind-auditioned for '' The Voice Kids UK'', where she performed

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

's "

Nutbush City Limits "Nutbush City Limits" is a semi-autobiographical song written by Tina Turner which commemorates her rural hometown of Nutbush in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. Originally released as a single on United Artists Records in August 1 ...

". She was picked by Judge

Danny Jones Daniel Alan David Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2005'' (born 12 March 1986) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly. Jone ...

, who became her mentor on the show. During the battle round, she performed "

Dancing in the Street "Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

" against Eboni Green and Hollie Firmin. For her semi-final performance, she sang James Brown's "

I Got You (I Feel Good) "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by American singer James Brown. First recorded for the album ''Out of Sight'' and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965, it was his highest-charting song and is arguably his best-known record ...

". For her final performance on 16 July 2017, she sang the

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical '' Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am ...

", from the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,G ...

'', before being eliminated as a finalist.

2018–present: ''America's Got Talent''

In her audition for the 13th season of '' America's Got Talent'', Hadwin sang

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

's " Hard to Handle". The performance inspired judge Howie Mandel to give her a Golden Buzzer, sending her straight to the live shows. Mandel compared Hadwin's singing to Janis Joplin. The audition video received more than 50 million views on '' AGT''s YouTube channel in its first five months. Hadwin returned for ''AGT's'' quarter-finals on 14 August 2018, singing "

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. Released as a two-part single in 1965, it was Brown's first song to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten, peaking at number eight, and was a number-one R&B hit, top ...

" by James Brown. For her semi-final performance on 11 September, she sang "

Born to Be Wild "Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 f ...

" by Steppenwolf, then returned for the final show on 18 September to perform

's "

River Deep – Mountain High "River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released as the title track to their 1966 studio album on Philles Records. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. ''Rolling Stone'' ranke ...

". On the results show on 19 September, she sang "

Piece of My Heart "Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul love song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles char ...

" with rock band

The Struts The Struts are a British rock band formed in Derby, Derbyshire in 2012. The band consists of lead vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies. The band has cited its influences as: Queen, The ...

. Although she failed to win ''AGT's'' grand prize, she went on to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to do five live shows with winner

Shin Lim Liang-Shun Lim (born September 25, 1991), known professionally as Shin Lim, is a Canadian-American magician, recognized for his use of card manipulation and sleight of hand. He is known for elaborate close-up card magic routines, during which ...

at the Paris Hotel and Casino from 2–4 November 2018. In December 2018, Hadwin signed a record deal with

Syco Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2005 through So ...

Entertainment and Arista Records. Her first album appeared on 25 October 2019 titled "The Cover Sessions", which include live covers of "Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles, "Old Town Road" by

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...

, "Sucker" by the Jonas Brothers, and "Someone You Loved" by

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi ( ; born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single " Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart wher ...

. She has been described as "an exceptional talent with a voice and spirit well beyond her years." When an interviewer asked her about her artistic influences, she said, "From Little Richard, James Brown to Janis Joplin,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

.... It's a really long list!" In 2019, Hadwin appeared as a contestant on NBC's '' America's Got Talent: The Champions'', where she performed her first original song, "Pretty Little Thing". She has been named as one of the 50 top contestants in all the '' AGT'' shows across 194 countries.

Discography

* 2019 ''The Cover Sessions'' * 2020 ''Happy Xmas (the war is over)''

Early and personal life

Career

Early performances

2017: The Voice Kids UK

2018–present: ''America's Got Talent''

Discography

References

External links