Don’t you dare write Jai Waetford off as just another cute face.
Back in 2013, when he was just 14 years old, he appeared on the fifth season of “X Factor Australia” and immediately stunned everyone with his adorable baby-face good looks. He was instantly dubbed “The Australian Bieber,” and Justin is, in fact, one of his musical influences. But when all was said and done, it wasn’t just their similar voices and looks that got judge Ronan Keating to jump up onto the tabletop.
Jai had everyone hooked within the first couple notes of Jes Hudak’s “Different Worlds,”prompting Ronan to literally drop his pen with an audible thunk, and judge Dannii Minogue to cover her mouth as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
The young teen had to have noticed the effect he was having on everyone but remained undeterred, continuing the ballad in a voice almost too clear and pure to be true!
But the reaction when he switched notes and the song picked up? You’d be hard pressed to find a more impressed panel of judges anywhere.
By the time he wrapped things up, Ronan had decided he wasn’t letting this kid off the hook just yet, and asked if he’d grace them with an original song… and Jai happily obliged because he is, after all, a songwriter. He put all he had into the encore, tapping into everything he felt while actually writing “Don’t Let Me Go,” and the audience responded as if they were actually at a Bieber concert. No doubt about it, this kid was going places!
And, with that star-worthy combination of a great voice and stunningly good looks, of course he has. He came in third that season, signed with a label soon after and even dabbled in acting, making his debut appearance on an Aussie soap opera, “Neighbors,” a few years later.
Five years after he came to the nation’s attention, he’s still charming people with his incredible talent and winning smile:
And just this year, he released a couple new singles, “Lost In You” and, most recently, “Get Over.”
Pretty good for a 19-year-old, right? Jai’s star is definitely on the rise and we’re expecting great things from him, even greater than what he’s already shown. Check out the performance that got it all started in the video below, and share to spread the word about this talented young entertainer.