Filipinos are once again making their mark in the global music scene as singer Matty Juniosa has earned a golden buzzer during the audition stage of Britain’s Got Talent.
The newest season of the talent show competition saw Juniosa throwing his hat in the ring. The 27-year-old Filipino has been residing in Glasgow, United Kingdom, for the past three years as a part-time waiter.
“I have been waiting for this chance to finally put an end to this long thing that I’ve been thinking of about myself that I will always be a singing competition loser,” he said, sharing that he previously competed in Idol Philippines in 2019.
“My dream is to sing for this amount of people and to sing every day and to make music and to conquer the world,” Juniosa highlighted.
For his performance, Juniosa sang a rendition of Purple Rain by legendary musician Prince and proceeded to dazzle the crowd with his high notes and powerful vocals.
After he finished, the Pinoy earned a standing ovation from judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and KSI.
“Your range is insane, oh my goodness! What a treat. It’s like when you discover a new food or a new restaurant, you’re like, ‘I need to go back, I need more.’ Whatever you’re about, I just need more of it,” Dixon said.
Holden then said, “You were amazing. I thought that was a fantastic performance, but I can see how much you want it, and I can see that passion in you. So well done ’cause it was an amazing audition.”
KSI, meanwhile, highlighted how Juniosa’s personality is “outstanding.”
“On top of that, as soon as you took that mic off that stand, you became a superstar. You absolutely crushed it,” he added.
On the other hand, Cowell told Juniosa, “You’re the kind of artist where I would say you want to put eight spoonfuls of sugar in your tea. You put about 10,000 in. This I think is the biggest reaction we’ve had from anyone,” he said.
The crowd proceeded to collectively cheer on Cowell to push the golden buzzer, prompting the music mogul to finally give in and slam the button, sending gold confetti raining down on stage.
An emotional Juniosa dropped to his knees as the audience erupted in cheers. Cowell then joined him on stage, and they shared a warm embrace.
“That was so good. You know, that’s one of my favorite songs,” he told Juniosa before turning to the audience, “How good was that? To everyone in this audience, I’m gonna say, this is your golden buzzer as well. Genuinely.”
With this, Juniosa can now bypass further audition rounds and advance to the live shows.
The nineteenth season of Britain’s Got Talent is expected to have its finals in May.