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Audience goes wild over Indian metal band's kickass 80s rock cover of 'Set Fire to the Rain'

“Authentic 80's style hard rock coming from unexpected places!”

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Bet you've never heard Adele like that before

The ultra catchy, outrageously flamboyant, and shamelessly fun sounds of 80s hair metal might have just made a comeback, all thanks to a rock band hailing from India.

The group, called Girish and the Chronicles, recently auditioned for America’s Got Talent with an explosive rock-n-roll covers of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” which basically set a proverbial fire to the stage with crazy guitar riffs, insane vocals, and yes, totally bodacious hair-dos.

Girish Pradhan, the lead singer, barely got two (incredibly impressive) notes outs before audience members popped out their seats and started jamming along.

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Down in the comments, listeners were floored not only by the band’s sheer level of talent, but at the cool cross cultural-ness of it all.

“They came for an audition and gave us a concert.”

“Authentic 80's style hard rock coming from unexpected places!”

“Bringing 80s rock back with a bang! I never thought I’d hear a rock version of an Adele song, but it was fabulous! I hope these guys get the recognition they deserve.”

“You guys are even more solid and powerful than most American bands these days. You've brought back the rock spirit. Wow!"

“As an American i can say he's better than most bands out here. Who knew the American 80’s rock would be back with a vengeance, from India.”

Even judge Howie Mandel noted, "You come from the other side of the globe and do something that is so traditionally American...it was so beautiful."

"You can’t fake the reaction behind us. What we just felt behind us, [from] the audience, was real," added Simon Cowell, just before commending Girish Pradhan by saying, "Your voice is really, really good, by the way."

The band, which has been together for 16 years, previously opened for Guns N’ Roses during their Abu Dhabi show, in addition to opening for Hoobastank, Poets of the Fall, Destruction, Tessarac, and Chris Adler.

But still, they “had been dreaming of performing in America ever since we got introduced to rock-n-roll.” According to Louder Sound, the band shared that, "We had a lot of struggles, but we were also living our lives to the fullest. More than anything, we were a group of four guys without a care in the world, who just wanted to get on stage and rock."

If that’s not the absolute essence of rock, we don’t know what is.

Stay up-to-date with all things Girish and the Chronicles on their Instagram page

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14-year-old Alabama boy's soulful cover of 'You Don't Own Me' is seriously one for the ages

It's safe to say no one expected that kind of voice to come out of a boy from Alabama still in braces.

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Reid Thomas Wilson getting showered with gold confetti on America's Got Talent

Ever since American Idol gave us the one-and-only Kelly Clarkson in its first season, modern talent competitions have become a staple of television viewing. We've seen so many incredible performers come through shows like "American Idol," "The Voice," and the "Got Talent" series, but there are still some singers who manage to surprise and delight audiences with their powerful, unique voices.

For instance, 14-year-old Reid Thomas Wilson. Reid performed Lesley Gore's 1963 hit "You Don't Own Me" on "America's Got Talent" back in 2024, and it's safe to say no one expected the voice that came out of a boy from Alabama who's still in braces.

Gore herself was only 17 when she released "You Don't Own Me," and the song has been covered by artists such as Dusty Springfield, Joan Jett, and Ann Wilson over the decades, but it's never sounded quite like this. It's no wonder Howie Mandel smashed that Golden Buzzer button, rocketing Reid to the live show round of the competition.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"Well, Reid, we weren't expecting that," said judge Simon Cowell. "You know, I shut my eyes for a moment when you were singing, just to listen to your voice, and then I opened them again and there's this sweet young kid." Howie Mandel concurred. "I was bowled over because I was surprised…first of all, you're just a 14-year-old kid from Alabama, so I would imagine—I put myself in your position—you were very nervous. And you did come off incredibly nervous, that was a surprise."

As the judges and Reid's mother pointed out, Reid was very nervous at the beginning of the audition, but he ultimately knocked it out of the park.

When Cowell asked what singer he draws inspiration from, Reid said singing legend Aretha Franklin. "Your parents must have great taste in music," said Cowell, to which Reid simply and hilariously responded, "No." Speaking of Aretha Franklin, Reid has had some experience with virality on social media for some of his at-home singing videos, including one where he sings Franklin's "Aint' No Way."

@nola_royal_queenie Oh my my the vocals on this young soul. 🫶🏽💓 Song: Aint No Way by Aretha Franklin- Cover Sung By: 13 year old Reid Wilson #talentedkids #arethafranklin #reidwilson #NolaRoyalQueenie #coversongsontiktok ♬ original sound - Nola Royal Queenie

Broadway great Lea Salonga commented on the video, "What on earth????? This kid is incredible!!!!!!!!" Another video in which Reid sang part of "The Impossible Dream" prompted a wave of big-name comments as well, such as Kristin Chenoweth telling him he should audition for her Broadway Boot Camp and Boy George commenting, "Write songs. Your voice deserves new songs."

People on TikTok, following AGT's coverage of Reid's audition, had nothing but praise for the young singer.

"The longer he sang,the better he got!"

"His voice is very transatlantic vintage, and it's AMAZING"

"Amazing voice control. This kid is going places!"

"You could see Simon listening closely and I love it when he does that. He’s picturing success I think."

"His clarity and control at 14 years old HOLY HECK!! he deserves that golden buzzer 😭"

Reid apparently comes from a talented family. His brother, Ryley Tate Wilson, was a competitor on "The Voice" in 2023 at age 16, making it to the semi-finals before being eliminated.

Reid would go on to perform an equally stunning rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" for the AGT semi-final, which prompted Mandel to praise him for his "pure and beautiful voice.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

And while Reid didn't move past this round on AGT, his music career has persisted. He and Ryley currently have a lovely single available on Spotify.

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13-year-old's unique 'Bohemian Rhapsody' rendition was so impressive it even wowed Queen

Angelina Jordan's "America's Got Talent" audition earned her an instant Golden Buzzer.

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Angelina Jordan blew everyone away with her version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody."

We've shared a lot of memorable "America's Got Talent" auditions over the years here at Upworthy, from physics-defying dance performances to jaw-dropping magic acts to heart-wrenching singer-songwriter stories. And after watching Angelina Jordan's "AGT: The Champions" audition, we've added it to the list because wow.

Jordan came to "AGT: The Champions" in 2020 as the winner of Norway's Got Talent, which she won in 2014 at the mere age of 7 with her impressive ability to seemingly channel Billie Holiday. For the 2020 audition, she sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," but a version that no one had ever heard before.

With just a guitar, a piano, and her Amy Winehouse-esque voice, Jordan brought the fan-favorite Queen anthem down to a smooth, melancholy ballad that's simply riveting to listen to—especially considering that Jordan was only 13 years old when she did this.

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

What this video doesn't show is Heidi Klum hitting the Golden Buzzer faster than you can sing, "Nothing really matters to meeee." The judges were blown away by Jordan's performance, as were the people in the comments.

"That's a ONE in A BILLION voice right there. Just amazing," wrote one commenter.

"I am typically not a fan of songs being redone particular to such a magnitude," shared another. "They almost always fall short of the original. But to completely rearrange a song in the manner that she has, from a legend, and then make you forget about how the original even sounded because her rendition is so good is utterly amazing."

"As Freddie once said, 'Do whatever you want with my music as long as you don't make it boring.' I think he'd really like this," shared another.

Though Queen's beloved lead vocalist Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, the band did offer words of praise for Jordan's performance, retweeting her audition video with the comment, "Wow! What a rendition of #BohemianRhapsody."

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is such an iconic song, it's hard for anyone to do a cover of it justice. But 13-year-old Angelina Jordan managed it masterfully. In bare feet, no less, which she explained in a thank you video to Heidi Klum for the Golden Buzzer honor.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"When I was around 6 years old, I see this little girl around my age," Jordan shared. "I gave my shoes to her because she had scars on her feet and it was really cold. So whenever I'm on the stage, I was reminded about all the children that don't have any parents, clothes, and shoes. She's always in my heart." Jordan has shared that she "made a promise many years ago to a beautiful soul" to not wear shoes on stage—a promise she has kept.

Jordan would move on to the Top 10 in "AGT: The Champions," and though she didn't take home the top prize, she did impress the audience with another classic rock tune, Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

- YouTubeyoutu.be


Since her time on AGT, Angelina has been singing her heart out, covering other Queen songs and even performing the official FIFA anthem in 2023. You can follow her on YouTube and TikTok and find her singles (including "Bohemian Rhapsody") on Spotify.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Girl and her extremely rhythmic dog dance to Queen and blow the roof off of 'AGT'

Folks are calling this the best dog act they've ever seen.

America's Got talent/Youtube

“How do we know that the dog is a real dog?” asked Simon Cowell.

What dog owner wouldn’t want to jam out to Queen with their pup while the world watches? Of course, our version probably wouldn’t be nearly as impressive as what Roni Sagi and her black and white border collie, aptly named Rhythm, did for America's Got Talent in August 2024.

First off, audiences knew they’d instantly be in for a treat when Sagi and Rhythm recreated the band’s famous pose for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But it only got better from there in a routine that featured a mash-up of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

The dance duo wowed judges and audiences alike with synchronized steps, turns, flips, and even a cool bridge pose trick (seriously, this was a dog owner’s dream come to life). Simon Cowell jokingly asked “How do we know that the dog is a real dog?” because Rhythm was just that good.

Sagi would later end up sharing that Rhythm earned his name from an early age, already tapping his little feet on her bed at only 6 weeks old. By that point, Sagi had already had experience training therapy dogs, which undoubtedly gave her a good foundation for working with her little “tornado storm.”

Perhaps it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise that Rhythm is so gifted. After all, border collies are notorious for being able to pick up skills quickly, and there have been several border collies that have broken world records—including records for intelligence, balance, and skateboarding (yes, really).

But Sagi seems to credit their chemistry less on Rhythm’s species traits, and more on his individual personality. “It’s so much fun to have a partner that wants [to perform] as much as you,” she said. “He wants to do it all, and he wants to do it now, and he wants to do it as good as he can.”

Down in the comments, online viewers shared their praises—and awe—for Rhythm’s performance.

“This was the most amazing dog act I've seen!” one person wrote.

“That precious dog Rhythm is SO talented and smart!!! I don’t understand how he knows what to do when his back is to her?!! This dog is truly dancing and just extremely talented!!!” added another.

Another said, “This dog is the most energetic and enthusiastic I've ever seen.”

Of course, Rhythm wasn't getting all the love. One person wrote, “I don't usually like dog acts, but this was impressive. Roni is very creative with what she does and obviously a great dancer herself and trainer.”

Maybe we can’t get all dogs to perform quite on this level, but it does show us just how amazing man’s best friend really is.

Watch the full act below:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com


This story originally appeared last year.

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