A 12-year-old singer got the golden buzzer on America’s Got Talent for singing a Broadway tune.
Luke Islam, of Garden City, New York, performed for America’s Got Talent’s last round of auditions. He is an aspiring singer who fell in love with performing while in pre-school, according to his backstage interview before the performance. Luke’s father and mother were also at the audition.
“Luke started singing the moment he learned how to talk,” said Luke’s father. “Luke sings while he’s brushing his hair, putting clothes on, putting socks on.”
Islam confirmed his father’s assessment of him and revealed another detail about his singing habit.
“I sing a lot when I brush my teeth. I don’t know if that’s healthy.”
America’s Got Talent showed old video footage of Luke as a small child, dancing at home with his sister. He told America’s Got Talent that the two often used to perform together at home.
Islam said he has seen a lot of Broadway shows and is always looking for ways to see more.
“When Luke was 6-years-old, I took him to see his first Broadway show, and something sparked,” his mother told America’s Got Talent.
“I love the audience. I love the crowd,” Islam told America’s Got Talent. “I love the stage, the props, the costumes. I want to be up there. I want to do what they do.”
When asked who his favorite show judge was, at first Islam said he liked all of them equally but then revealed his favorite was Julianne Hough. He said that he and his sister have followed the careers of Julianne Hough and her brother for years.
The comment worked out well for Islam after his performance.
Hough and her brother Derek are both award-winning dancers, Good Housekeeping reported. They are also both actors. Julianne is also a singer. They both attended very rigorous performance training in London as children. They had notable runs on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Islam told the America’s Got Talent judges he feels he can accomplish his dream to be on Broadway through competing on America’s Got Talent.
Islam chose to sing “She Used to Be Mine” from the Broadway show “Waitress.” “Waitress” is about a small-town pie maker who wants to find a way out of her current situation to make a fresh start in life, according to Broadway World.
Islam’s performance shows he is young but familiar with the Broadway idiom and gets much crowd reaction for his soaring voice. He gets a standing ovation at the end.
The judges give praise for the performance. Simon Cowell doesn’t give praise so much as he gives Luke advice for future performances and how to make an impact.
Hough then goes on to thank Luke for being a fan of hers and her brother, as he expressed before he sang. Luke cries while listening to her. She then proceeds to hit the golden buzzer for him.
Luke expressed how he felt about the performance, in his America’s Got Talent Buzzer Reaction video.
“One feeling I’ll always remember is when Julianne hit the golden buzzer. It’s something I would never imagined would have happened. A very good feeling.”
Islam also expressed what brought him to America’s Got Talent stage.
“It’s very very cool to just see so many talented people on TV, so I thought maybe one of those people could be me, so I just decided to audition, and look what happened.”
