Britain's Got Talent child star Asanda Jezile's Eurovision journey, Disney project and 'reinvention'
Britain's Got Talent child star Asanda Jezile's Eurovision journey, Disney project and 'reinvention'
Asanda was just 11-years-old when she wowed the Britain's Got Talent judges back in 2013
The then 11-year-old blew away the judges with her performance of Rihanna's Diamonds in her audition.
(Image: ITV )
Asanda Jezile was just 11-years-old when she first auditioned for Britain's Got Talent back in 2013. She blew the judges away with her performance of Diamonds by Rihanna, and her first audition now has a massive 108 million views on YouTube, making it one of the most viewed auditions in BGT history.
Her diva like attitude, dance moves and rich vocals made for a perfectly polished performance at such a young age. What was fascinating to see was watching Asanda snap in and out of character whilst performing, as she flashed the judges her cheeky grin after finishing the song.
Now 12 years later, Asanda is almost unrecognisable as she has grown up into a beautiful young woman who has made some impressive career moves. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
Britain's Got Talent appearance
Back in 2013, Asanda progressed to the final of Britain's Got Talent, where she performed Beyoncé's If I Were a Boy.
This led to judge Alesha Dixon saying: "It takes artists years to get to that level of performance and presence, and your voice, by the time you get into a recording studio, you have one of the nicest tones to your voice and I can't wait to hear your album."
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Despite three amazing performances across the series the singer didn't win the competition as that year the theatre troupe Attraction took the title.
Glamorous new life
Asanda who is now 24, looks so different 13 years after her original stint on the TV talent show.
She now has over 30k followers on Instagram and often posts pictures of her glamorous lifestyle.
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In 2018, she entered Eurovision: You Decide, a competition to decide which act, selected by a public vote and the votes of an eight-member professional jury, would represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Ultimately, SuRie won the vote and headed to Lisbon for the competition, but she later lost out to Netta Barzilai who won for Israel that year.
She still sings, although now has moved on to a different genre of music, Afrobeats.
Asanda was even one of the many people who performed on Disney's Lion King prequel, Mufasa which was released earlier this year.
She said on social media: "Grateful and honoured is an understatement! Thank you to @lionking @disneystudios @thereallebo_m and the South African cultural gospel choir in the UK for giving me the platform and the opportunity to perform for the @lionking Mufasa Movie Premiere in the UK & the choir for the movie .
"An experience I will never forget. Doing this project, for a year and a half, now seeing the result and the vision come to life was and still is a full circle moment. Thank you."
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Music career
She has also released her own music including an album titled The Wait is Over.
In 2023, when she launched the album on social media she decided to explain where she had been since her BGT days and why she hadn't released any music.
She referenced her original BGT audition, saying: "I feel like I owe an explanation especially to the individuals who have shown mad love & support from the day I sang on that stage with that crusty looking fringe."
She continued: "It's been a long way since 2013. Ten years, time really does fly!
"It really hasn't been easy, especially putting a project out after ten years. The woman I'm becoming, is already a journey itself & I'm excited for the next chapter it brings.
"I've learned that life has its course where I guess you could say you have to go through it to become a better version of you."
She added: "I hope this reinvention of the Asanda I am now, vs me back then shows growth, confidence, and honesty through my music, as I am no different than anyone, I can relate.
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"I know I will be hearing people say finally I'm dropping music, you should've done it a long time ago! That's true, however, I wasn't ready. I wasn't content within myself & now I am."
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