Ten-year-old Chloe Hickinbottom took to the Britain’s Got Talent stage with a simple dream: to become a singer. Despite her young age, she showed remarkable maturity when choosing her song. Opting not for a modern pop hit, Chloe selected a classic standard, “Over the Rainbow,” sung in the style of the great Vera Lynn. This unexpected choice immediately surprised the judges, who clearly did not anticipate such a sophisticated performance from a young girl who looked so small on the massive stage.
As soon as Chloe began to sing, the audience and the judging panel were left in stunned silence. Her voice was unexpectedly powerful and possessed a beautiful, old-fashioned quality that seemed entirely out of place for a child her age. The performance was technically perfect, as she delivered the difficult song with precision and emotional control. She didn’t just perform the song; she transported the entire theatre back in time, captivating everyone with a vocal talent that seemed to belong to a professional adult singer.
The judges were overwhelmed by the performance. Piers Morgan admitted he “absolutely didn’t know what I was expecting,” and noted that if he shut his eyes, she could have sounded like a woman “40 or 50 years old.” All the judges praised her beautiful tone and perfect pitch, with one declaring her the “biggest surprise of the day” and confirming she was “born to sing.” Securing four enthusiastic “yeses,” Chloe Hickinbottom’s unforgettable audition earned her a well-deserved ticket to the next round, cementing her status as one of the season’s most promising, and surprising, young talents.