Last month, the audience of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) was stunned by the melodic voice of Malakai Bayoh. The 13-year-old is one of the contestants of the global hit show, which is on its 16th season. Malakai’s “big dream” is to be a singer. He explained that he started singing when he was seven and joked that his mother made him join the choir because “she’s very bossy.”
The young singer is no stranger to a big stage, but this was the moment to make the world appreciate his talent. Although he seemed nervous at first — as anyone would be before such a vast audience — he transformed when given the stage. Malakai sang a stunning rendition of the famous Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem.
Simon Cowell gives the golden buzzer
Simon Cowell is known as a critical and demanding judge who isn’t easy to impress. But as soon as Malakai hit his first note, Simon’s face lit up. Moments later, the crowd was captivated, and they started applauding. The YouTube clip shows a wide-eyed fellow judge Bruno Tonioli amazed by the kid’s talent.
His angelic performance entranced the entire auditorium, including his mom and sister. And when he finished, the audience, including all four judges, gave him a standing ovation.
Simon gave him a Golden Buzzer, which means he goes straight to BGT’s semi-finals. “If there’s any one word I could use to describe that … golden,” he said. “How amazing was that? I mean seriously, seriously good. One of the best voices I’ve ever heard for someone your age. I mean, this is amazing.”
Bruno Tonioli was also awed by the young singer. “I was in tears because you touched me. And it’s effortless; you sang like an angel.”
Alesha Dixon, another judge, was also entranced. “I don’t know what you are channeling, but whatever is pouring out of you is heavenly and beautiful. I went into a trance.”
What’s Malakai Bayoh’s inspiration?
As mentioned, Malakai aspires to be an opera singer. He schools at The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in London. The teenage opera singer loves playing computer games, Liverpool Football Club, and the saxophone.
The teen fell in love with music through his church choir at St. George’s Cathedral. Malakai has had a fantastic journey, and last year (2022), he sang O Holy Night with Aled Jones at the Royal Opera House. The amazing video of the pair singing was watched live with over 25 million viewers and counting.
“My mum made me join my local choir when I was 7,” Malakai said. “And after that, I joined my secondary school, and with that, there came opportunities to do operas and concerts and stuff too.”
His mother, Mrs. Bayoh, encouraged him to join the choir after hearing his beautiful rendition of Lukas Graham’s 7 Years. ‘His older sister was in the choir, and they would sing for me every year. So when I heard him sing for the first time, I said: “You’re auditioning for the choir.” He was at a friend’s party, and I said: “You’re not going unless you audition”‘, Mrs. Bayoh said.
He didn’t listen to hecklers
Malakai shows passion and resilience. His incredible BGT performance comes just months after a heckler booed him at the Royal Opera House during his performance of Alcina by George Handel. Before his performance at BGT, his mother said she was scared for him as she remembered the incident.
“It just scares me because, on his very first show, somebody heckled him. It was gutting to think that someone would boo a child on stage because it would just have knocked his confidence completely,” she said. Luckily, the heckler didn’t rattle Malakai at his Royal Opera House performance, and he performed beautifully. The Royal Opera House also took action and banned the heckler for life.
The young singer continues to enchant us with his angelic voice, and most people believe he will be BGT’s winner this year.
