Dalton Harris flew all the way from Jamaica to audition for The X Factor in the UK. He was 24, and you could see straight away that he was nervous. The judges told him not to worry and to enjoy every second.
Backstage, he shared his story. He grew up with his mother and his older sisters, and they were very poor. The family lived in one room divided into sections, and they never had electricity or running water. But Dalton said it was not a sad story. He was proud of how he came out of it.
He chose Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word by Elton John. He explained that if more people he had met had said sorry, a lot of people would have been left with much less pain. He added that he had been watching the show and preparing for this moment for seven years.
His voice was full of feeling, and near the end he almost broke down. When the judges asked why, he quietly said that he had been alone since he was about 15, and that he had accepted it.
One judge said the song felt sincere and gave a whole new meaning to it. Another said they did not understand why some people go through so much pain, but was glad his journey brought him there, because he was truly magnificent. Another said they were rooting for him more than anyone they had seen so far. The yeses came quickly, and Dalton left the stage with four of them ✨.
