Charlie Green, a 10-year old half-Filipino, sang his way to the next round of Britain’s Got Talent, a talent search created by American Idol judge Simon Cowell, who also sits in the panel of judges with journalist Piers Morgan and actress Amanda Holdren.
During the program’s second week of live auditions in Birmingham, Charlie gave a spirited rendition of Frank Sinatra’s 1966 hit record, “Summer Wind.” He was cool and composed throughout the entire performance, even doing some old-fashioned jazz scatting and finger snapping.
After he sang, the audience gave Charlie a standing ovation and chanted his name.
Piers, who called the boy “Old Charlie,” was entertained by both his singing and dancing. Amanda went as far as giving a bold forecast: “I predict, you [Charlie] could win in this show.”
Even the panel’s harshest critic, American Idol judge Simon Cowell, had nothing but praise: “Charlie, I think you’re a little star! I really, really like you!"
In the end, Charlie got three “Yes” votes from the judges, and is now set to move on to the next round of competition.
Waiting for him at the backstage were his Filipina mom Cecilia Sumargo— who hails from Dumajug, Cebu—and British dad, who both gave him a warm hug. When asked about his reaction to the judges’ comments, Charlie said, obviously starstruck, “They’re really good! They were better than I thought!”
Charlie is the second Filipino to make waves in the British talent search. First was the 32-year old single mom and club singer Madonna Decena, who auditioned in Manchester, and wowed the judges with her powerful rendition of Whitney Houston's “I Will Always Love You.”