Simon Cowell heard this teen sing once and said he was reminded of Harry Styles (he wasn’t wrong)
'America's Got Talent' contestants have never ceased to amaze the judges with their incredible performances. One such contestant was Benicio Bryant, who blew the judges away with his powerful vocals, which surpassed his age. The 14-year-old appeared in AGT's Season 14 and belted out a rendition of 'The Joke' by Brandi Carlile. When Julianne Hough asked what got him into music, Bryant coyly replied, "My dad, I guess, he was 40 and he was like, 'you know what I think I'm gonna be a rockstar' and we were all like looking at him like..."
"Okayyy, yeah, sure! (with a hint of sarcasm)" He further explained, "So, I've been singing, you know, since I was like 2." Hough, visibly amazed, asked, "Why did you come on AGT?" The boy replied, "I've been watching the show for so long," he chuckled, "and I wanted to come here so that I can share my music with the world," Bryant added. When he started singing, the judges' eyes widened, and Bryant did not even need to finish his song before the audience gave him a roaring standing ovation, already declaring him a winner. Soon after the performance wrapped up, Hough didn't hold back, "Wow! First of all, what a song to choose!" She added, "You are the entire package, and I just wanna keep hearing you sing."
Gabrielle Union said, "You came out here, you're complete authentic self, let your voice do the talking, and you connected with all of us." She added, "Incredibly talented.. and I love the denim on denim moment, I like that." Howie Mandel also said, "From the moment you started, it built and built and I was like how good this is gonna get.. and it got great. You are amazing." Simon Cowell also couldn't stop raving about Bryant's performance: "I could see how scared and nervous you were, but you pulled it together." He went on, "There is something about you...You remind me of the very first time I auditioned for Harry Styles. He had this presence about him." "I think you are a real find," Cowell concluded. He ended up receiving Yesses from all judges.
This wasn't the only time Bryant showcased his talent. Per Billboard, the shy boy was second in 'The Voice Kids' Germany. The show had discovered Bryant through his YouTube channel, following an audition on Skype. According to Entertainment Now, Bryant also performed with Brandi Carlile at Tahoma High School in Washington. Speaking of how it happened, Bryant shared in a separate interview, "One of my teachers was talking about this benefit, and she was like, ‘Why don’t I see if you can go?’ And then the next day, she told me that I got to perform with Brandi Carlile. It was just shocking, like ‘Oh my gosh, no way!’ I couldn’t wait to tell my mom.”
Per the aforementioned outlet, Bryant also debuted on TV in 2019 when he appeared on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers', where he performed with a band and earned a standing ovation-hinting the star that he was destined to become. In a recent interview with Paper Mag, Bryant, now 20, opened up about his inspiration, “I want to be what Lady Gaga was for me. It was always important that she let everybody know, just be yourself. It's really that simple, just be yourself."