An X Factor UK audition brought the judges to tears, days after Simon Cowell loses his mom. The contestant, Josh Daniels, performed a heart-wrenching rendition of Labrinth’s “Jealous” that he dedicated to his best friend — Tom Woolley.
Tom lost his life tragically at the age of 18, about 2 years ago.
Before beginning his audition, Josh shared that the reason this song is so special to him is because it reminds him of Tom and how, to some extent, he’s jealous that Tom is resting in peace and happy in heaven without him.
All the judges are visibly affected by Josh’s performance — spoiler alert, he gets three yeses!
Simon, though, was personally affected by the performance because just a few days before this audition was filmed, he lost his mom. Julie Cowell was 89 years old at the time of her passing. After the performance, Simon limited his comments to just giving Josh a “yes” and once the judges exited the stage, made it a point to separate from the rest of the judges.
As the video ends it focuses on how Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nick Grimshaw are unsure of what to do — should they comfort Simon? should they leave him alone? (This is a very familiar feeling for any friend of someone who has lost a loved one.)
Check out the full video here:
