5-year-old Sophie Fatu absolutely charmed the judges with the most darling audition on America’s Got Talent while singing Frank Sinatra’s hit “My Way.”. The Charleston, Western Virginia, lass displayed a huge set of pipes despite her diminutive size and also had buckets of charisma, which just won the room over immediately.
Sophie arrived dressed in the cutest pink dress and, during her interview, declared, “Oh my God, there’s so many people,” getting a laugh from the crowd. She named Simon Cowell as her favourite judge, to which he quipped, “You’re just doing everything right now.” The young singer then laid on the charm even further, saying, “Mr. Simon, I sort of dreamed about you. I saw that you pushed the golden button.” Her audition went viral online, gaining 54 million views on YouTube, as you can see below.
Sophie performed with a backing track of “My Way,” which sounded a bit like a lullaby. The juxtaposition of a song about a life well lived being sung by a 5-year-old made the performance quite unique. While Sophie could improve on her pitch a bit, she certainly displayed a powerful voice and pulled out all the stops for the final big refrain, getting a huge cheer from the crowd. She also showed composure beyond her years, as she seemed undaunted by the enormous crowd.
Cowell commented first, saying, “We weren’t expecting that, Sophie. I love that song. And normally, people about 90 sing that song about what their life’s been about. And you sing it at five. You are adorable; well done.” Howie Mandel chimed in next, saying, “You did it your way, didn’t you? That was amazing. You are the most adorable, cutest, and most talented little thing I’ve seen on that stage.” You can see Sophie’s performance in the Judge Cuts round below, where she sang Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”.
Mel B was also a big fan of Sophie’s audition. She told the young singer, “You are just so cute, and you sang like an angel.” Heidi Klum was the final judge to comment, and the supermodel told Sophie that she should be very proud of herself. Klum explained that “We see so many people here and a lot of grown-ups, and they’re shaking because they’re so nervous, and you just did it like that!”
The judges delivered four yes votes to Sophie, and she also displayed her impeccable manners by politely thanking them after each positive comment and each vote. Sophie progressed to the Judge Cuts, where she was eliminated following her “New York, New York” performance.
Appearing on America’s Got Talent is not the first time Sophie has wowed TV audiences, as at age four she performed on Steve Harvey’s NBC show Little Big Shots. Sinatra covers are her specialty, as she also sang “Fly Me to the Moon” at age five on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Sophie also often sings with her mother, Victoria Volz, on the family’s YouTube channel, Vicky and Brandon, which has 472,000 subscribers.