London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 21, 2026

13-year-old opera singer leaves BGT panel in tears with golden buzzer audition

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when a 13-year-old opera singer took to the stage for a second lot of auditions on Britain’s Got Talent.
Malakai had the judges on their feet as he belted out Pie Jesu, with the panel praising it as ‘heavenly’.

The teen – who fell in love with singing when he was seven, after joining a choir – impressed the judges so much, in fact, that he only went and got a golden buzzer!

Following his stunning audition, Simon Cowell, 63, told him that there was ‘only one word’ to describe his performance… and that word was ‘golden’.

The X Factor creator didn’t hesitate to press the special buzzer, sending Malakai straight through to the live shows.

And with Malakai’s mum and sister in tears in the audience, they weren’t the only ones overcome with emotion, as new judge Bruno Tonioli, 67, wept all the way through.

The former Strictly Come Dancing judge and BGT newbie burst into tears almost immediately after Malakai opened his mouth, tilting his head back as he failed to keep it together.

‘I was in tears!’, he said afterwards.

‘It really touched me and it was really simple. You sang like an angel.’

Fellow judge Amanda Holden hailed the performance ‘stunning’ and ‘flawless’.

‘You did yourself so proud,’ she praised.

Alesha Dixon added that she went ‘into a trance’ while listening to Malakai sing.

Viewers at home were equally as impressed, as one tweeted: ‘Wowers Malakai’s performance was superb his voice was just beautiful every note was just perfection he totally deserved that golden buzzer from Simon and i was in bits just like everyone else while listening to his stunning voice’.

‘WOW!!! Malakai’s music was well worthy of a golden buzzer, very angelic’, wrote another.

‘Malakai was sensational! Goosebumps’, another tweeted.

Speaking in a Twitter video after the moment aired on TV, Simon said Malakai’s audition ‘defines what a golden buzzer is all about’.

‘Just when everything is perfect and it’s a surprise and it’s magical,’ he smiled.

‘We all… trust me… if it wasn’t me, someone else would’ve hit it. That’s why I was very quick!’
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Museum Faces Questions Over Peter Thiel’s Private Bayeux Tapestry Viewing
Earl Spencer Memoir Excerpts Renew Public Debate Over Diana’s Death
Liberal Democrats Gather in Brighton for Autumn Conference
Mothercare Shares Plunge as Middle East Store Closures Threaten Long-Term Solvency
Kent Police Treat Folkestone Hotel Fire as Suspicious
Caribbean Governments Advance Reparations Campaign Seeking Engagement With Britain
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
FCA Urges Young Adults to Trace £1.5 Billion in Unclaimed Child Trust Funds
UK Competition Regulator Opens Inquiry Into McCormick-Unilever Foods Deal
Public Inquiry Into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Mental Health Failings Set to Begin
Nigel Farage Looks to US Immigration Enforcement Model for UK Border Policy
Chiltern Railways Moves Into Public Ownership
Security Review Raises Concerns Over Sensitive UK Police Data Stored on Microsoft Cloud
Burnham Government Warns of Difficult Autumn Budget as Fiscal Headroom Narrows
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
England Tightens School Food Standards With Restrictions on Deep-Fried and High-Sugar Foods
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Proposed Asylum Centre
Michael Marra Elected Leader of Scottish Labour
BBC Cash Reserves Fall Sharply as Financial Pressures Mount
George Osborne Calls for UK to Rejoin EU Customs Union
×