Courtney Hadwin

Last updated

Courtney Hadwin
Courtney Hadwin performing in 2024.jpg
Courtney Hadwin performing in 2024
Background information
Born (2004-07-06) 6 July 2004 (age 20)
Genres
OccupationSinger-Songwriter
Years active2014–present
Labels
Website courtney-hadwinofficial.com

Courtney Hadwin is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to fame by competing prominently on the first season of ITV's The Voice Kids UK 2017 and the 13th season of the NBC competition show America's Got Talent (AGT) the next year. Her latter audition went viral. By the time of her second performance in 2018 on the first live TV broadcast of AGT that season, the video of her audition had been viewed "over 200 million" times, according to show host Tyra Banks as she introduced Hadwin. [1]

Contents

Early life

Hadwin lives in Hesleden in county durham; she has a brother Paul and a sister Melissa, three and four years younger, respectively. Her parents are Paul and Ann-Marie Hadwin neé Storey. Courtney attended Hesleden Primary School [2] [3] [4] and until autumn 2018 studied at The Academy at Shotton Hall in Peterlee. [4] [5]

Courtney Hadwin has also trained at Shotton Hall Theatre School at TASH in Peterlee, Peanuts Master Classes, Kate Sirs School of Music, [6] and Julie Miles' Vocal Ovation. [7] She was a 2018 finalist on TV's America's Got Talent . Prior to her involvement on AGT she appeared on the first series of The Voice Kids in the UK and afterwards on America's Got Talent: The Champions .

Career

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. [8] She also gained notice when she was filmed performing Great Big World and Christina Aguilera's soaring duet "Say Something" in September 2015 during lunchtime at her school. [9]

In April 2016, she won Hartlepool's Performer of the Year Award, and was a finalist in the Beyond The Lights award ceremony. [10] 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. [11] In January 2018, she sang in Southampton at an event for U-Support, raising funds for children with life-limiting illnesses and disabilities. [12]

2017: The Voice Kids UK

Hadwin performed Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" in a blind audition for The Voice Kids UK will.i.am, one of the three coaches, had her repeat part of her act on The Voice Kids so he could see her dance some more. [13] She was picked by judge Danny Jones, who became her mentor on the show. During the battle round, she performed "Dancing in the Street" against Eboni Green and Hollie Firmin. [14] 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. [15]

2018–2019: America's Got Talent

In her audition for the 13th season of America's Got Talent , Hadwin sang Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle". She appeared a bit shy or bashful as she walked onstage talked before singing and dancing wildly, getting the audience up on their feet. Simon Cowell told her "you sing and you're like a lion." [16] A huge fan of Janis Joplin, Howie Mandel referenced "Clive Davis going to the Monterey Pop Festival" and seeing a young girl (Joplin) who no one has ever seen or had known of before. He was the first to weigh in on Hadwin's performance. Mandel couldn't have been more enthusiastic as he compared her rendition to Joplin's debut. Hadwin's performance inspired Mandel to give her a Golden Buzzer, sending her directly to the live shows. [17] Mandel compared Hadwin's singing to Janis Joplin. [18]

Hadwin's audition video received more than 50 million views on AGT 's YouTube channel in its first five months. [19] [20] Hadwin returned for AGT's quarter-finals on 14 August 2018, singing "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" by James Brown. When introducing Hadwin to the live TV audience for the quarter-finals, host Tyra Banks announced that Hadwin's audition had been viewed more than 200 million times. 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". Considerable controversy arose on the Internet about Hadwin's "hidden" prior experience on The Voice Kids UK in 2017, and about whether or not Hadwin was as shy and bashful as she first appeared at her audition.

Family, friends, and school teachers came to her defense, saying she has been shy throughout her childhood, and many noted that other contestants also had prior experience as contestants before appearing on AGT/BGT. [21] Hadwin's grandfather spoke about how she is painfully shy and has sung in her sleep. [22] Hadwin says she is an avid bouncy castle lover.

On the results show on 19 September, she sang "Piece of My Heart" with rock band The Struts. Although she failed to win AGT's grand prize, she went to Las Vegas to perform five live shows with winner Shin Lim at the Paris Hotel and Casino from 2–4 November 2018. [23]


In December 2018, Hadwin signed a record deal with Syco Music and Arista Records. [24] [25] In January 2019, she 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 as one of the 50 top contestants in all the AGT shows across 194 countries. [26]

2019–present: Pandemic hiatus and debut as songwriter

After her performance (when she was 14) of her original song "Pretty Little Thing" on America's Got Talent: The Champions, Hadwin's first EP was released 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. [27] She has been described as being "an exceptional talent with a voice and spirit well beyond her years." [28] 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!" [29]

Hadwin was slated to perform at the Woodstock 50 music festival which was planned for the 50th anniversary weekend of the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair. [30] Unfortunately the event organizers encountered significant difficulties in both finding a venue (given the disastrous Woodstock '99 festival) and a combination of other funding and management problems leading to the cancellation of the event. [31] [32] [33]

The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the live performance of music and causing or contributing to the cancellation of many music festivals, concert tours, and releases of new albums for years. [34] [35] During the hiatus, Hadwin released a cover of John Lennon's song "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" on 20 November 2020 to YouTube and also to music streaming services. [36] [37]

Hadwin was signed onto the roster to perform at the FM4 Frequency Festival music festival in 2021. However, the festival was canceled again. [38] At some unknown point, she parted company with the label which inherited her account after Simon Cowell's Syco Music label ceased operations, as evidenced by a comment from Hadwin in response to a fan's (YouTube user 'Hal Dayley') comment mentioning 'Simon' on her YouTube channel post of her first music video released in 2023, 'Breakable'. She responded to the comment, "It’s all me for this one completely independent finally doing it MY WAY." [39]

On 24 February 2023, Hadwin released her new original single, "Breakable," on both YouTube and on music streaming services. She wrote the song with producer Kevin Bowe who works with her. [40] [41] On 7 April 2023, she released a new single, again an original, "That Girl Don't Live Here". [42] On 28 July 2023, she released a new single, a soulful original ballad, "Call Me Back". [43]

On 29 September, 2023, Hadwin released her 4th original single of the year, a hard-rocking tale appropriate for the Halloween season (or any season, really, as the lyrics are about the challenges of maintaining mental health when stressed), titled "Monsters". [44] It is considered to be a quite upbeat tune for a serious topic in the lyrics. A number of listeners reacting to the song noted that it is a positive feature of the song. [45] [46] [47] [48] On 11 October, 2023, it was reported by Xander Zellner, a journalist and charts/data analyst at Billboard, that Hadwin's self-released original single "Monsters" charted at No.19 on Billboard's "Hard Rock Digital Song Sales" chart. [49]

On 24 November 2023, Hadwin released her fifth new original single of the year, a fun, fast, hard-rocking upbeat Christmas song titled "Christmas Rocks" to both YouTube and streaming services. [50]

Discography

Original Singles

Covers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janis Joplin</span> American singer (1943–1970)

Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals, as well as her "electric" stage presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peterlee</span> Town in County Durham, England

Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It is located south of Sunderland, north of Hartlepool, west of the Durham Coast and east of Durham. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also created the nearby settlement of Newton Aycliffe and later Washington, Tyne and Wear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Lee</span> Korean-American pop singer (born 1995)

Megan Lee is an American actress, director, and former singer-songwriter best known for her role as "Sun Hi Song" on Make It Pop and her singing talents on YouTube.

America's Got Talent is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007, following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network's summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program's history. The current host is Terry Crews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bianca Ryan</span> American musician (born 1994)

Bianca Taylor Ryan is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ryan was the first winner of NBC's America's Got Talent at the age of eleven. Singing two Broadway show tunes along the way, Ryan was announced as the winner of season one on August 17. Her self-titled first album was released later in 2006, followed by two Christmas albums. Two singles followed in 2007 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaitlyn Maher</span> American singer and actress (born 2004)

Kaitlyn Ashley Maher is an American singer and actress known for being the Youngest Top 10 Finalist on America's Got Talent and for her roles in films such as The Search for Santa Paws, Santa Paws 2, Free Birds, and the PupStar series; as well as television shows such as FOX's The Goodwin Games and PBS' Mack and Moxy. She serves as the first-ever youth ambassador for the global nonprofit Compassion International and is a national debate champion, singer/songwriter, and global advocate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Graceman</span> American musician

Anna Graceman is an American singer, songwriter and recording artist whose self-penned songs and music have garnered national recognition. She has been featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, America's Got Talent, and CBS News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madilyn Bailey</span> American singer & songwriter (born 1992)

Madilyn Bailey Wold, commonly known as Madilyn Bailey and Madilyn, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and YouTube personality. She has appeared on multiple TV live shows in France to promote her cover singles and she also promoted her original single "Tetris" on the American TV show Today in 2018. As of February 2024, she has about 9.6 million subscribers on YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Voice Children's Choir</span> American childrens choir in Utah

One Voice Children's Choir is an American children's choir in Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace VanderWaal</span> American singer-songwriter (born 2004)

Grace Avery VanderWaal is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is known for her distinctive voice and has often accompanied herself on the ukulele.

Darci Lynne Farmer is an American ventriloquist and singer. She has been credited with the revival of ventriloquism, earning praise and numerous accolades for her work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelica Hale</span> American singer

Angelica Hale is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She competed in the 12th season of America's Got Talent, and became the runner-up to winner Darci Lynne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loren Allred</span> American singer (born 1989)

Loren Allred is an American singer. Allred made her Billboard Hot 100 debut with the platinum-selling "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman musical. She is featured on Michael Bublé's Love album in a duet of "Help Me Make It Through the Night," and alongside David Foster, as part of his An Intimate Evening PBS concert special and album. Her debut EP Late Bloomer was released on September 24, 2021.

The third season of Asia's Got Talent (AGT) premiered on February 7, 2019 at 8:30 pm (UTC+8). The winner of this season received a grand prize of US$100,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daneliya Tuleshova</span> Kazakh singer (born 2006)

Daneliya Tuleshova is a Kazakhstani singer. She represented Kazakhstan in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Minsk, Belarus with her song "Ózińe sen", finishing sixth.

Chapel Hart, originally known as Hyperphlyy, is an American country music vocal group from Poplarville, Mississippi. The group consists of sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart, and their cousin Trea Swindle, all three of whom are vocalists. Chapel Hart has independently released four studio albums and eleven singles. In July 2022, they competed in the seventeenth season of America's Got Talent, where they finished fifth. The group's music is defined by their vocal harmony and influence from other female country acts. The group's most popular song is "You Can Have Him Jolene", an answer song to Dolly Parton's "Jolene".

Jane Kristen Marczewski, better known by her stage name Nightbirde, was an American singer-songwriter.

Léa Kyle is a French magician who performs quick-change magic. She is known for receiving a Golden Buzzer for her quick-change performance, during her audition on America's Got Talent. She also appeared during the series 15 of France's Got Talent, and the seventh season of Penn & Teller: Fool Us.

Dustin Tavella is an American magician and singer. He is best known for being the season 16 winner of the NBC show America's Got Talent as a magician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara James</span> Polish singer and songwriter

Sara Zofia Egwu-James is a Polish singer and songwriter. She won the fourth series of the Polish talent show The Voice Kids and represented Poland at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021, in which she placed 2nd out of 19 entries, 6 points behind the Armenian representative, Maléna, who placed 1st.

References

  1. ↑ America's Got Talent (14 August 2018), Courtney Hadwin - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - Best Audio - America's Got Talent - August 14, 2010 , retrieved 3 November 2023
  2. ↑ Duke, Simon (13 June 2017). "Watch: Courtney Hadwin, the Peterlee school girl with the huge voice". Evening Chronicle . Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  3. ↑ Macdonald, Kenny (13 July 2017). "Inverness Granddad Is 'So Proud' Of Voice Kids Star Courtney". Inverness Courier. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 Duke, Simon (13 June 2017). "Watch: Courtney Hadwin, the Peterlee school girl with the huge voice". Evening Chronicle . Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  5. ↑ "Mum of America's Got Talent star Courtney Hadwin speaks of pride after teenager singer lands record deal". www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin, Child-actor, County Durham". Mandy.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "America's Got Talent star Courtney Hadwin prepares for live shows". Hexham Courant. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "TeenStar – TALENT CONTEST | TEENSTAR 2015 NATIONAL GRAND FINALE". www.teenstarcompetition.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Duke, Simon (13 June 2017). "Watch: Courtney Hadwin, the Peterlee school girl with the huge voice". nechronicle. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  10. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin wins Performer of the Year Award | The Academy at Shotton Hall". www.shottonhallacademy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Teenage singing star Courtney Hadwin wows judges on America's Got Talent". Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Voice Kids charity encore". Daily Echo. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  13. ↑ Duke, Simon (12 June 2017). "The Voice Kids: Peterlee School Girl Courtney Hadwin Wows With Tina Turner Cover In Blind Audition". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "Courtney" . Retrieved 23 November 2018.[ dead link ]
  15. ↑ "Courtney" . Retrieved 19 November 2018.[ dead link ]
  16. ↑ Seemayer, Zach (12 June 2018). "America's Got Talent: 13 Year Old With Social Anxiety Turns Into Janis Joplin When She Sings". etonline.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Brandle, Lars (12 June 2018). "Watch A British Teen's Golden Buzzer-Winning Performance Of "Hard to Handle" On America's Got Talent". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  18. ↑ Seemayer, Zach (12 June 2018). "America's Got Talent: 13-Year-Old With Social Anxiety Turns Into Janis Joplin When She Sings!". ET (Entertainment Tonight). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  19. ↑ America's Got Talent (12 June 2018), Courtney Hadwin: 13-Year-Old Golden Buzzer Winning Performance – America's Got Talent 2018 , retrieved 19 November 2018
  20. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin". NBC. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  21. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin Speaks On "America's Got Talent" Controversy". Forbes. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  22. ↑ Macdonald, Kenny (13 July 2017). "Inverness Granddad Is "So Proud" Of Voice Kids Star Courtney". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  23. ↑ "AGT – s13 – AGT Live in Vegas". NBC. Retrieved 19 November 2018.[ dead link ]
  24. ↑ Angermiller, Michele Amabile (18 December 2018). "'America's Got Talent' Rocker Courtney Hadwin Signs Record Deal". Variety. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "British America's Got Talent finalist Courtney Hadwin signs with Syco and Arista". Music Week. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  26. ↑ "America's Got Talent: The Champions", Nbc.com, retrieved 9 December 2018
  27. ↑ "Archived copy". www.amazon.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ↑ Angermiller, Michele Amabile (17 December 2018). "'America's Got Talent' Rocker Courtney Hadwin Signs Record Deal". Variety. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  29. ↑ Lipka, Carolyn. "Courtney Hadwin Speaks On 'America's Got Talent' Controversy". Forbes. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  30. ↑ "America's Got Talent singer Courtney Hadwin to perform at 50th anniversary of Woodstock musical festival alongside The Killers, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Miley Cyrus and Jay-Z". Sunderland Echo. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  31. ↑ "Woodstock 50 Was Just Canceled. Here's Everything to Know About the Ill-Fated Festival". TIME. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "Woodstock 50 Officially Off". Variety. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  33. ↑ "Woodstock 50 Releases All Artists From Contracts After Maryland Announcement". Billboard. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  34. ↑ "How Coronavirus Is Wreaking Havoc on Music". Rolling Stone. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  35. ↑ "Albums Postponed Amid the Coronavirus Outbreak". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  36. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  37. ↑ "Spotify - 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over']". Spotify. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  38. ↑ "Barracuda plans new event, Frequency fest cancelled". Live Music Intelligence. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  39. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Breakable (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  40. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Breakable (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  41. ↑ "Spotify -- 'Breakable']". Spotify. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  42. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin 'That Girl Don't Live Here'". Spotify. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  43. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin 'Call Me Back'". Spotify. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  44. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin 'Monsters'". Spotify. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  45. ↑ "COURTNEY HADWIN - MONSTERS (REACTION)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  46. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Monsters (Official Audio) Watch Along & brief commentary !". YouTube. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  47. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Monsters Reaction!". YouTube. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  48. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Monsters (Official Audio Reaction)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  49. ↑ "10 First-Timers on Billboard's Charts This Week: Del Water Gap, The Beaches, Armand Hammer & More". Billboard. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  50. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin 'Christmas Rocks'". Spotify. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  51. ↑ "Courtney Hadwin - Pretty Little Thing with lyrics". YouTube. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  52. ↑ Brownson, Sophie. "Courtney Hadwin shares stage with Bruce Springsteen's guitarist Stevie Van Zandt and Sam Fender". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  53. ↑ "Little Steven and the Disciples Of Soul with Jimmy Barnes, Peter Garrett, Sam Fender, Courtney Hadwin, Jake Clemons, Garland Jeffreys and Bruce Springsteen" . Retrieved 23 August 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.