A floppy-haired boy stood on stage, not knowing he was about to go down in The Voice Australia history! Josh Richards, at just 15, was the youngest contestant of the season and had some serious competition. However, the schoolboy had something that was gonna turn his audition into a smash hit – the most heavenly, clear, and beautiful voice, which he used to bowl everyone over with a heartfelt performance of the Jackson 5 ballad “I’ll Be There”.
Young Josh opened with the sweetest high falsetto, which quickly turned two of the judges’ chairs. He then proved that he could hit the low notes with power, and then his soaring high notes in the chorus turned the third and fourth chairs. Josh is such a complete vocalist for his age, and the judges were flabbergasted to see how young he was. The Music Man readers won’t want to miss his final gorgeous a cappella section, and that excited boyish grin he drops afterwards when he realized he nailed his audition!
Australia’s boy wonder really made his mark on The Voice, as with 8.6 million views across multiple uploads, his audition was one of the most popular kids’ performances in the history of the show. Fans were mighty impressed and added comments such as “THE BEST rendition of that song in this century. The kid has the magic” and “Amazing. Actually it’s incredible for his age, he sings like an experienced adult but with an angelic voice. So talented that I was speechless for a few moments.”
The Voice Australia certainly has form with delivering some amazing teenage vocal talents. The show gave 18-year-old singer Harrison Craig the chance to share his gift with the world on his rendition of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” which hit 11 million views on YouTube. The Music Man has to say that Harrison’s heavenly falsetto after the 1:40 mark is truly to die for!
Josh Richards had quite the run on The Voice Australia after his hit audition on “I’ll Be There.” He triumphed in the battles round with a performance of Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire,” and again in the knockouts with his cut of Ariana Grande’s “One Last Time,” showing off his ability to do anything he put his mind to. Josh then progressed through the playoffs with a strong performance of Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want from Me.” This allowed him to finish in the top 12, where he was cut following a performance of Rihanna’s “Love On the Brain.” Unfortunately, only three of his performances from the season were made available on YouTube, but all three were hits, gaining seven-figure view counts.