There’s nothing stronger than the bond between mother and daughter and that was on full display with Honey and Sammy’s soul-stirring duet on Britain’s Got Talent. 14-year-old Honey secretly entered her and her mum Sammy, who is a cancer survivor, into the competition. After getting over her shock, Sammy agreed to appear and the pair opened their audition with “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles.
Things got off to a rocky start for the duo however, as Simon Cowell stopped them only after a couple of lines, saying that he didn’t like the song. He gave them a second chance though and the pair came back swinging with Freya Ridings’ “Lost Without You”. No one was stopping them this time around and the way their voices intertwined on the folk-pop ballad was so moving and powerful. Check out their audition in the video below.
Mum and daughter embraced after finishing the song, and both were holding back tears as the crowd cheered for them. Before singing, Honey told the judges that “the past couple of years, my mum got diagnosed with cancer. It’s been a tough couple of years and to be here with my mum is the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m so grateful for everything. I never thought that when me and my mum were singing in the car or something that it’d bring us to this stage.”
Things were about to get even better for Honey and Sammy though, as Amanda Holden dropped the golden buzzer on them after commenting “every single lyric that you sang just seemed so poignant to your story. It was just the most wonderful thing to witness.” Honey was clearly not expecting such a dramatic development and she just gasped in amazement while Sammy did a little happy dance. You can see the duo perform Calum Scott’s “You Are The Reason” in the semi-finals in the video below.
Simon Cowell was also impressed by Honey and Sammy’s performance, commenting “good for you. After everything you’ve gone through, you deserve that moment. I’m going to remember this audition for a long time.” David Walliams chimed in next with “I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been for you. But you’ve turned it into something incredibly special today. It was faultless ladies, well done.” Alesha Dixon is always a fan of a feel-good family moment, and she weighed in with “I just love the connection. There’s nothing more beautiful than a mother-daughter relationship. Congratulations – you did it.”
Honey and Sammy’s performance in the audition was all the more impressive as it was done on such short notice after Cowell canned their prepared song. Sammy had to learn “Lost Without You” on the spot and even turned up to the audition with the lyrics written on her hand to help her remember them. The pair later progressed to the semi-final, and despite positive feedback from Holden and Dixon, they were eliminated following their performance of “You Are The Reason.” If you would like to see more from Honey and Sammy, you can subscribe to their Instagram.