Music Blogs

Susan Boyle Eclipsed By 12-Year-Old Talent

Posted Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:41pm PDT by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Video Ga Ga

Britain's Got Talent hopeful Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation last week with her moving performance of "I Dream A Dream" from the Broadway musical Les Miserables. Her back story of being a 48-year-old plain Jane who had never been kissed and lives with her cat helped her rack up tens of millions of YouTube video plays in days.


But 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi from Mount Pleasant, Swansea appears to have the goods to eclipse Boyle.

Jafargholi's performance Saturday night on the competition show has given the Internet yet another new buzz.

Initially, Jafargholi's fate did not look so promising when he began singing Amy Winehouse's "Valerie." Though his pure vocals were evident, judge Simon Cowell stopped him just seconds into the song to tell him that he was headed in the wrong direction and asked him what else he sang.

Instead of being crushed, the savvy preteen immediately responded with The Jackson 5's "Who's Loving You?" (Click image below to see him perform.)

From the first note of the track, Jafargholi won over Cowell, the other judges and audience.

Susan Boyle is incredible, but personality plays a big part on these shows. It is going to be tough for a humble, middle aged woman who is hesitant to get a makeover to pose stiff competition for a cute kid who is quick on his feet and able to tackle a Michael Jackson song.

While Jafargholi's skill is undeniable the Jackson song was not spontaneous or much of a risk for him. Last year, he toured the UK for six weeks performing Jackson music for an elaborate pop concert-style show Wales reports.

Additionally, he already has an impressive resume that includes attending The Mark Jermin Stage School in Swansea since the age of five, appearing in the BBC's Torchwood And Casualty and an ad for Comic Relief.

And if that is not enough competition for Susan Boyle, Jafargholi also offers humility to match.

When asked how he felt when Cowell interrupted his performance and asked him to sing a different song, Jafargholi said he was grateful. "I couldn't believe Simon Cowell had given me a second chance," Jarargholi told Wales. "He's basically God in the music industry."

Follow Me On Twitter.

Follow Yahoo_Music On Twitter

1132 Comments

161. Jaime L -
OMG I LOVE HOW HE WAS SINGING HEY DO U GUYS HAVE PIZZA AM HUNGRY!!!!!LOL

162. Naomi -
Susan is way better. The boy's voice will change anyhow.

163. devious -
Who cares? I don't give a rat's ass what happens to these 2 clowns.

164. ashley -
i wanna here it

165. Yahoo! Music User -
Oh Please- as if this kid wasn't placed. He starts singing a crappy song, and Simon decides to ask him to switch to this Jackson 5 song, and they just happen to have the tape on standby? Come on.

166. Morgan -
XD













































































MORGAN

167. arlenk -
DANG!!! that kid sure can sing!

168. Amanda -
OMG!!!!! HE IS GREAT BUT IF I WAS HIM I WOULD JUMP OFF THE STAGE AND BEAT SIMON. AND THAT OTHER GIRL WAS GOOD TOO. BUT IF I HAD TOO CHOOSE IT WOULD BE THE BOY!!!!! LOLZ I'M TOO WATCH IT TONIGHT AND COMMENT IT TOMMORROW!!!!!!!!!

169. M -
Shaheen is still young.. he has a long way to go. But I think I'll still root for Susan Boyle. She need the win cos it's HER TIME. The little boy have so much time ahead but Susan who is already being discovered late need to win Britains got talent 2009! Everyone vote for Susan! Give here what she deserve!

170. imnotaseal -
So obviously a setup. How else would they have had the Michael Jackson song ready to go at a moment's notice?

171. Jennifer D -
I don't know why there's so much hype about this kid. He hasn't gone through puberty yet and so his voice hasn't changed yet. Yeah, he has a great voice but it's going to change. Susan Boyle is WAY better and more deserving of a win.

172. Yahoo! Music User -
You're right. It was staged. I agree that how can they have his other song ready so quickly. But it doesn't matter. Susan was way better.

I'm not hungry. I had a big dinner. Now I'm just horny.

173. MikeW -
I don't know why Yahoo is rushing to replace a sensation-- it's like short-attention-span theater with them-- thinking that we need a new stimulus every week so they try to manufacture one with this kid. Stop and watch this kid's performance. He's cute as a bug and precocious and can belt it out loudly-- but not very good. He is off pitch and screechy. The thing that made Susan Boyle a sensation is that she was, well, quite homely, and no one expected such a wonderful, mellifluous voice that was pitch perfect. Plus it is like a hard luck story with her-- the underdog and all. Hardly the same situation with a cute-as-a-button kid whose got a whole life ahead of him and who will go through puberty in a couple years anyway and not sound anything like that. This one is just manufactured fluff. Really. He's not all that good. Seriously. Get real Yahoo.

174. Leah D -
Your face.

175. Sherm -
susan was much better

176. Yahoo! Music User -
hes BEAST!

177. Maria -
WHAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! she got a really good voice, that woman can sing.

178. poochie smoochie -
hey i just want all of ya to know that taylors swift and a little bit of miley cyrus are the best two singers in the whole entire world
but i think that taylor swift is prettier.

179. Michael -
Nice set up Simon. He sure knows how to work the media and the world. Give it him, he knows how to get people talking.

180. Nya H -
WOW boy
Page:  5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 
Leave Your Comment
You must sign in to leave a comment
Select a Blog Posts
And The Winner Is...
by Paul Grein
30
As Heard On...
by Lyndsey Parker
48
Chart Watch
by Paul Grein
147
Framed
by John Kordosh
122
GetBack
by Shawn Amos
344
Hip-Hop Media Training
by Billy Johnson, Jr.
237
List Of The Day
by Rob O'Connor
337
Maximum Performance
by Lyndsey Parker
167
Musictoob
by Andy Pemberton
197
New This Week
by Dave DiMartino
126
Reality Rocks
by Lyndsey Parker
606
Rock's Backpages
by Tony Stewart (1977)
197
Stop The Presses!
by Lyndsey Parker
87
That's Really Week
by Billy Johnson, Jr.
128
The Blender Burner
by Blender Magazine
27
The MOJO Blog
by James McNair
91
The NME Blog
by Luke Lewis
49
The Spin Blog
by David Marchese
80
The Y! Music Playlist Blog
by Robert of the Radish
527
Video Ga Ga
by Lyndsey Parker
73
Viva NashVegas
by Wendy Geller
65

LeAnn Rimes' husband files for divorce

AP
Sat Dec 19, 2009 12:20am PST

AP - Court records show LeAnn Rimes' husband Deane Sheremet has officially filed for divorce. The couple announced a divorce was in the works in September, but no paperwork had been filed. Court records show Sheremet f… More »

More Music News