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Wednesday, Jul 09, 2025

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!’
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