Mission singer Eshan Sobti is moving on to the next round of Canada鈥檚 Got Talent.
On the stage for the Million Dollar season on Citytv on Tuesday night (April 30), Sobti told judges Lilly Singh, Howie Mandel, Kardinal Offishall and Trish Stratus that he was nervous. It was the biggest stage he ever performed on.
Sobti spoke about struggles with confidence growing up due to bullying and others judging his appearance.
鈥淚f I won Canada鈥檚 Got Talent, it would mean that everything people said about me in the past 鈥� they were wrong. I proved them wrong. And it would show me that it doesn鈥檛 matter where you come from, what culture you come from, you can still do what you love at the end of the day and if you have passion, you鈥檙e gonna rise,鈥� Sobti said when asked by judges what he would do if he won.
Sobti performed a rendition of Whitney Houston鈥檚 鈥淗ow Will I Know鈥� and earned several 鈥渨ows鈥� from judges. His parents, brother and aunt were also in the audience after flying to Ontario from B.C.
He says singing that song was a big risk due to the degree of difficulty.
鈥淚 really wanted to do something that was well-known and iconic, but I wanted to put my own spin on it. So I did a ballad version of 鈥楬ow Will I Know鈥� because I wanted to show that I can sing one of the hardest songs,鈥� he said.
Sobti wasn鈥檛 sure he could measure up but was able to make it his own.
鈥淭hey seemed to really like it,鈥� he said.
Eshan Sobti is out here blessing our ears 馃槏馃幎
鈥� Canada's Got Talent (@CanGotTalent)
Catch up now on-demand or stream it on Citytv+ 鉁�
Don't miss the biggest twist in Got Talent history! Watch : The ELIMINATIONS, TUESDAY at 8/7c on 馃専
The song earned Sobti raucous applause from the audience and unanimous approval from judges.
鈥淛ust listen to this room. We love you. Canada loves you. Your family loves you. That was a million dollar performance,鈥� Mandel said
Singh said she hopes Sobti goes all the way and believes he could win Canada鈥檚 Got Talent.
鈥淚t brings me so much joy to say hanji. Yes, 鈥� Singh told Sobti.
Offishall also praised Sobti鈥檚 ability.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 touch Whitney Houston鈥檚 songs because they are so difficult to sing but you owned it,鈥� he said.
Sobti says he was crying throughout the process of judges providing comments.
鈥淚t was really overwhelming. I had no idea what was going on. I was just in awe and shock the whole time that this is actually happening to me because I鈥檝e been watching the show for so long. I鈥檝e been envisioning myself on the stage through other acts but now that it was me, it was like damn, this isn鈥檛 real,鈥� Sobti said.
The audition round is over and Sobti is one of 14 acts moving on to the next round of competition with a chance to win $1 million.
Sobti says it鈥檚 possible he could need the public鈥檚 votes to move on to the final round.
The next episode airs on May 7 on Citytv at 8 PT for viewers on the west coast and 5 PT for those on the east coast.
READ MORE:
