Kerr James appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019 when he was only thirteen years of age. After a year of busking on the streets of his hometown of Glasgow, he decided to audition for the talent show. After wowing everyone with his first audition and impressing viewers throughout the show, he made it all the way to the semi-finals. For his semi-final performance, a grand piano was brought on stage so that Kerr could show off his talent on the keys alongside his impressive vocal talents.

Seated in front of the white grand piano, Kerr performed a cover of ‘Rocket Man’ by Elton John. Surrounded by projections of constellations, he dove into a magical performance. Kerr once again showed off his mature vocals, sounding far beyond his young age of thirteen. The audience cheered and applauded as he sang, clearly impressed with his rendition of the song. The BGT judges were similarly impressed, rising to their feet to give him a standing ovation.

The judges all complimented Kerr’s performance. Simon noted that while many young performers that come on Britain’s Got Talent do things that are “obvious”, he felt that Kerr’s performance was different, as if he’d “actually written the song”. Alesha commented that doing what he could do at his young age was “so impressive”. Online viewers of his audition were similarly impressed, leaving comments such as “A performance that even Sir Elton would be proud of!! Great job, Kerr.”

One of the main compliments the judges gave was that it was a big step up from his first audition, despite how impressed they had been by it at the time. For his first appearance on the show, Kerr sang a cover of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’, a song famously recorded by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Despite having big shoes to fill, Kerr did the song justice, prompting one audience member to comment, “He sounds so much older.”

Despite Kerr’s impressive talent, he didn’t make it to the finals of the show. Now, he is back in Glasgow and, as of last year, was still performing music in Glasgow and exploring writing his own songs. Due to his lack of online presence, it is unclear in what capacity Kerr is pursuing music at this stage. However, one thing is clear: with Kerr’s vocal talent and unique sound, there are sure to be many who would jump at the chance to hear him sing again should he ever decide to put himself back out there in the wider music scene.