It’s been roughly 48 hours since guitarist Olly Pearson owned the stage and blew away the judges on Britain’s Got Talent, and in that time he’s no doubt received countless invitations from bands across the globe in need of a new shred monsters.
Whether he’ll be able to entertain any such offers remains to be seen. Pearson, you see, is all of 11 years old.
The diminutive guitarist admitted that he was nervous as he strolled onstage with what appeared to be a Patrick James Eggle guitar. Pearson, who first picked up the electric guitar at age seven, said that his favorite guitarist is AC/DC’s Angus Young, to which judge Simon Cowell responded, “Okay. Now you’re talking.”
That’s when Pearson put it all out there, telling the judges, "My dream for the future is to become the best guitarist in the world.”
With the cheering crowd already on his side, and his proud grandfather Lee looking on, Pearson paid tribute to Angus by kicking things off with a crunchy slice of “Highway to Hell.” In the blink of an eye, AC/DC morphed into Van Halen as the young picker nailed some of Eddie’s spunky licks on “Jump.”
But the kid – and the crowd – was just getting warmed up. He concluded his star-making spot with a smashing, note-perfect performance of Brian May’s solo on Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
All of which brought the crowd, and the judges, to their feet.
“Oh, my god, Olly. Literally, a star is born. I have never, ever seen anything like that in my life,” said a stunned Amanda Holden, who presented Pearson with the “Golden Buzzer.”
Next came Cowell’s verdict: “You already have your own distinct sound, which normally people take decades. You’re that good! That was brilliant.”
Still basking in his triumph, Pearson appeared on Britain’s This Morning broadcast with his grandfather Lee, who recounted the moment his grandson was bitten by the guitar bug.
“Olly said to me, ‘I saw a guy playing in the street, and I wanna do that.’"
Guitar became their bond, as grandpa, a player in his youth, relearned the instrument while Olly blew past him.
“I didn’t so much teach him,” Lee said. “I just opened the door and out it came.”
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