These Vocals Were Out Of This World! He's Only 12 Years Old

American Idol
9 followers
30 Video Views·Jun 20, 2026
A 12-year-old boy amazes the audience and judges with a powerful, emotional vocal performance far beyond his age.
AI Generated·May contain errors
Video Summary
AI GeneratedKerr James, a 12-year-old from Glasgow, auditions with a powerful performance of \"Try a Little Tenderness.\" Aspiring to be a recording artist like Freddie Mercury, he impresses the judges with his vocal range and stage presence, ultimately receiving four \"yes\" votes to move forward in the competition.
What's your name? I'm Kerr James. I'm from Glasgow.
How old are you, Kerr?
I'm 12 years old.
Twelve?
Yeah.
Oh my goodness. So why now?
I don't know, I just always listen to the Susan Boyle variation.
I get to perform in front of you, so yeah.
What's the big dream for you, Kerr?
To become a recording artist, that would be the best.
And is there anybody out there that you aspire to be like?
Freddie Mercury.
Have you brought anyone with you today?
I've brought my mum and my dad and I've got the full clan and audience somewhere.
Hi everyone!
Well we are with you and we wish you the best of luck.
Thank you very much.
Go for it.
Girls, they do get weird.
Wearing the same old shaggy dress.
You sound so much hotter.
But when she's weary,
Try a little tenderness.
Just becomes somebody else, doesn't he?
Who is this guy?
You know she's waiting
Just anticipating
The things that she'll never ever ever say she'll
But while she's waiting
All you gotta do is try
Try a little tenderness
All you gotta do is squeeze her
Hold her when you want her
Gotta squeeze her
Don't tease her
Never leave her
You got to get to her
Try a little tenderness
Don't tease her
Never leave her
You got to, you have to
Try a little tenderness
I took my breath away.
And she lies there
Thank you very much.
David, what did you think?
It was great. And you know what?
Apart from your astonishing voice, you're a really great performer as well.
And you talked about Freddie Mercury.
And I think one of the things that made him so special is he had this extraordinary voice
and he was this absolute dynamite performer.
Amazing.
Thank you.
Do you know what? Your whole body was in that song.
And that was an amazing performance.
Thank you.
You know what I like about you?
I see a lot of kids come on your age over the years, heads down.
But you came out with this real energy, real optimism, positive.
And you're good when you're different and you're good when you stand out.
I really like you.
It's so impressive.
I'm really excited to see you do more because I think there's more in that range.
Bundles and bundles of potential.
That was brilliant.
We're going to take a vote now.
David?
Of course, I'm saying yes.
Thank you.
I'm saying yes.
Thank you.
It's a yes from me.
Kurt, four yeses.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
