Courtney Hadwin is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to fame by competing prominently on ITV’s The Voice Kids UK 2017 and the 13th season of the NBC competition show America’s Got Talent.
Early performances
In April 2015, Hadwin auditioned for her first singing competition at TeenStar in Newcastle, England, with her version of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love”, and reached the competition’s grand final. She also gained notice when she was filmed performing Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s soaring duet “Say Something” in September 2015. In April 2016, she won Hartlepool’s Performer of the Year Award and was a finalist in the Beyond The Lights award ceremony. She was the opening act for Sister Sledge at a South Tyneside Festival concert in July 2017, where she sang for more than 18,000 people. In January 2018, she sang in Southampton at an event for U-Support, raising funds for children with life-limiting illnesses and disabilities.
2017: The Voice Kids UK
Hadwin blind-auditioned for The Voice Kids UK, where she performed Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits”. She was picked by Judge Danny Jones, who became her mentor on the show. She performed “Dancing in the Street” during the battle round against Eboni Green and Hollie Firmin. For her semi-final performance, she sang James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)”. For her final performance on 16 July 2017, she sang the torch song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”, from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, before being eliminated as a finalist.
2018–present: America’s Got Talent
In her audition for the 13th season of America’s Got Talent, Hadwin sang Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle”. The performance inspired judge Howie Mandel to give her a Golden Buzzer, sending her straight to the live shows. Mandel compared Hadwin’s singing to Janis Joplin. The audition video received more than 50 million views on AGT’s YouTube channel in its first five months.
Hadwin returned for AGT’s quarter-finals on 14 August 2018, singing “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” by James Brown. For her semi-final performance on 11 September, she sang “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf, then returned for the final show on 18 September to perform Tina Turner’s “River Deep – Mountain High”.
On the results show on 19 September, she sang “Piece of My Heart” with the rock band The Struts. Although she failed to win AGT’s grand prize, she went on to Las Vegas to do five live shows with winner Shin Lim at the Paris Hotel and Casino from 2–4 November 2018.
In December 2018, Hadwin signed a record deal with Syco Entertainment and Arista Records. Her first album appeared on 25 October 2019 titled “The Cover Sessions”, which includes live covers of “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers, and “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi.
She has been described as “an exceptional talent with a voice and spirit well beyond her years.” When an interviewer asked her about her artistic influences, she said, “From Little Richard, James Brown to Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger…. It’s a really long list!” In 2019, Hadwin appeared as a contestant on NBC’s America’s Got Talent: The Champions, where she performed her first original song, “Pretty Little Thing”.
She has been named one of the 50 top contestants in all the AGT shows across 194 countries.