An Abu Dhabi resident aged 10 has floored the judges and viewers of the latest season of America's Got Talent, prompting judge Heidi Klum to say "Mariah better watch out."
Peter Rosalita performed the 1975 Eric Carmen song All By Myself, also made famous by Celine Dion in 1996, in the first episode of the reality show's 16th season, which aired on Tuesday.
Dressed in a white suit paired with a blue shirt and tie, the youngster immediately charmed the show’s four judges as soon as he walked on to the stage.
“I was born in Abu Dhabi, UAE, but I am a Filipino citizen,” he said confidently.
When asked what he would do with the $1 million prize money if he won, Rosalita said he would buy a Nintendo Switch and a laptop for his online school.
“You realise you’ve only spent $1,500 so far?” judge Howie Mandel joked.
Rosalita, who warmed up to his song in a lower register, shocked the crowd when he got to the chorus, hitting various octave jumps as a stunned Simon Cowell looked on.
By the time he was done, all four judges – Klum, Mandel, Cowell and Sofia Vergara – were on their feet.
"That was an incredible audition,” the usually hard-to-please Cowell said. "There were parts during that audition that literally gave me goosebumps. You have an amazing voice, an amazing personality, an amazing energy. Everyone is going to fall in love with you after this audition.”
"I predict you're going to go far in this competition,” Mandel chimed in.
A shocked Vergara asked him: “Do you get surprised when you hear your own voice?”
Klum said Rosalita’s voice was “so high you would think a glass would explode”.
Predictably, Rosalita then got a resounding "yes" from all four judges, ensuring his place in the next round of the competition.
Prior to his potentially life-changing appearance on the hit reality show, the young singer has been winning awards for his voice in the UAE.
In 2019, Rosalita, then 8, beat 109 other contestants to win Deerfields Star, a children's talent competition hosted by Deerfields Mall in Abu Dhabi, and took home prizes worth more than Dh5,000 ($1,361) in gifts and shopping vouchers at the competition.
He has been polishing his vocals at the Cadenza Music Institute in Abu Dhabi since 2018.
"He is one of our best students and we're so excited with his audition," Rose Abegail Ortiguero, a music teacher and the managing director of the institute told The National. "Peter loves practicing and never complains. The future is really bright for him. He's just getting started."
Before his Tuesday appearance, the youngster has also been documenting his journey to America's Got Talent.
“US-bound from Abu Dhabi,” he posted on April 24.
On May 2, he posted a photo of himself outside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California where the auditions were held.
America's Got Talent, created by Cowell, first premiered in 2006 and has been a ratings success for broadcaster NBC. While last year's season was held mostly virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, the new instalment features the return of a live audience, with actor Terry Crews returning as host.
Besides the $1m prize money, the eventual winner will also receive a headlining show in Las Vegas.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
