Matthew Cooper Makes Queen Go Opera On Uplifting Audition On Canada’s Got Talent

Matthew Cooper took Queen to a night at the opera with his cover of “Who Wants to Live Forever” on Canada’s Got Talent. The singer, who hails from the remote Newfoundland town of Carbonear, gave a moving audition earlier this year on the English band’s power ballad. He dialed up the opera vibe of the tune, injecting plenty of drama, and host Lindsay Ell called his vibrato “insanely beautiful”.

Cooper overcame some huge challenges on his way to Canada’s Got Talent, as he is 40% deaf in both ears. He had a bout of nerves on stage before revealing this, and also told the judges he was talking to them mostly by reading lips. He added that “I actually learned to sing without my hearing aids”, and was going to be performing without them. All hints of nerves were blown away when Cooper opened his mouth to sing, however, and the stage was 100% his from that point onwards.

Cooper has a delicate and smooth voice, yet he can also really bring the thunder on the big notes. Queen’s Freddie Mercury sang “Who Wants to Live Forever” with a bit more of a stadium-ready, anthemic sound. Cooper, meanwhile, leaned into the personal and romantic elements of the song, really making it his own.

Lilly Singh was a big fan, saying, “You come out here and you kind of underplay how good you’re going to be. You’re such a likeable guy, you’re kind of shy. But you have this powerhouse, amazing voice that is so memorable.” Kardinal Offishall agreed, saying, “That’s why people tune into this show, to see special gifts like what you have today. And tonight Matthew, you gave everything you got on this stage, and it paid off!” In the elimination round, Cooper performed “The Winner Takes It All”.

Howie Mandel then kicked off the vote by giving Cooper a yes, and then the singer got a clean sweep with four yes votes from the judges. That got him sent through to the elimination round, where he performed the intense Abba classic “The Winner Takes It All” in his signature style. Fans online agreed that Cooper was a star in the making, adding comments such as “This should have been a golden buzzer moment” and “I had chills the whole time! I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it was certainly not that. I have tears in my eyes just watching! Way to go Matthew, you definitely made Newfoundland proud!”

If you were moved by Matthew Cooper’s rendition of “Who Wants to Live Forever,” you can follow him for more updates on his Facebook page. Enjoy more beautiful performances from this talented artist!

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