All you need to know about Courtney Hadwin, one of the favourites to win America's Got Talent

Young singer Courtney Hadwin is wowing TV audiences in the United States with her performances on America's Got Talent.
Courtney Hadwin is one of the favourites to win America's Got Talent.Courtney Hadwin is one of the favourites to win America's Got Talent.
Courtney Hadwin is one of the favourites to win America's Got Talent.

But who is the 13-year-old singing sensation who is taking one of the world's biggest talent shows by storm?

Here's all you need to know about Courtney.

Courtney Hadwin performing at the South Tyneside Summer Festival last year.Courtney Hadwin performing at the South Tyneside Summer Festival last year.
Courtney Hadwin performing at the South Tyneside Summer Festival last year.

1. She was born in Hartlepool on July 6, 2005, which means she only turned 13 last month.

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2. She is the daughter of Paul and Annmarie Hadwin, and has two younger siblings, brother Paul, 11, and Melissa, nine. The family live in Hesleden, on the outskirts of Hartlepool.

3. She has been interested in music since an early age, and her idols are James Brown, Whitney Houston, Jessie J, and Jennifer Hudson.

4. She is a pupil at The Academy at Shotton Hall, in Peterlee.

5. People began to take notice of her voice when she performed Say Something by Great Big World at a lunchtime open mic session at her school.

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6. She also spent two years trying to raise money to fund her dream of becoming a singer.

7. She won the title of the Mail’s Performer of the Year at the Best of Hartlepool Awards last year.

8. She appeared at South Tyneside Festival summer concert line-up in Bents Park in South Shields in July last year. where she supported soul legends Sister Sledge.

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10. However, she received widespread fame after she performed Otis Redding’s 1968 hit Hard To Handle on America’s Got Talent in June this year.

11. Mandel compared her to a young Janis Joplin and gave her the golden buzzer, sending her straight through to the live shows.

12 She has a huge number of fans on social networking sites - more than 24,000 followers on Twitter, over 134,000 on Instagram, and 337,000 on Facebook.