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Singer's Cover Of 'Imagine' Has The Audience In Tears
His voice was truly special, and it had much of the audience in tears.
Ryan Aliapoulios
07.11.19

Of all the different musical reality shows on television, few are as fun and surprising as America’s Got Talent.

Over the years, the show has broken all kinds of new acts and found talented individuals from all over the world.

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wikipedia.org

Though all of these kinds of shows have their own strengths, AGT’s biggest advantage is that it brings a fun and irreverent atmosphere where shows like American Idol tend to be a little more serious. To that end, you’re more likely to see unusual or silly talents mixed in with serious ones.

On the other hand, you’re also more likely to see unique interpretations of songs.

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That was the case in one performance from the show’s 2019 season.

The performer in question was Chris Kläfford, a 30-year-old Swedish performer. As Kläfford explains, he’s always loved performing for his family but never truly took his own talents all that seriously—maybe because his family also didn’t take them seriously.

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Although he wanted to pursue singing and music as a career, his family was more interested in having him join the family business. After some soul-searching, he decided to walk his own path and to audition for the show.

With that, he walks out on stage and faces the judges.

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YouTube Screenshot

After that, it’s time to introduce himself.

He explains that he’s a singer and that he started singing when he was in 5th grade, and that he was classically inspired by American rock music. After his brief introduction, he starts strumming his guitar and gently singing.

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Though it’s not clear what he’ll sing at first, it becomes clear that he’s covering “Imagine” by John Lennon—but this is totally unlike the original version!

Even though the song he’s performing is one of the most iconic and famous in English, he still makes it completely his own!

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As the song goes on, the camera shows that plenty of the audience members have tears in their eyes watching him.

Most incredible about Kläfford’s performance is that he’s able to incorporate so much dynamic range into the song.

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YouTube Screenshot

Though he starts off slow, quiet and small, his voice grows into a full-throated rock voice that still loses none of its precision in the higher notes. When it’s also over, the crowd explodes with applause and Kläfford immediately has tears in his eyes.

It’s clear that Kläfford wanted so badly to follow his dreams—and this performance was the first step.

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After his song, the judges all weigh in on it—and the feedback is enormously positive.

As all the judges say in their own way, it was clear that Kläfford put his entire heart into the performance and that it meant a ton to him.

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For his part, judge Simon Cowell says that the most impressive thing of all was how he was able to take something that everyone in the world knows and completely reinterpret it. After all that, every one of the judges gives Kläfford a yes—and the audience gets on their feet again!

Needless to say, Kläfford is completely overcome with emotion.

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YouTube Screenshot

Though there are plenty of different ways to make a good impression in an audition, this was truly special.

Kläfford’s voice is an old-fashioned rock music voice that doesn’t exist much anymore, one that is equal parts quiet, loud, tender and aggressive. Though it’s unclear what will happen with him in the future, everyone in the audience is sure to remember that moving performance for a long time.

Congratulations to Chris Kläfford on a truly amazing audition! Watch the full thing below:

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