Teenage years are awkward. Finding yourself amidst the crowd, comparing, analyzing, trying to sort through the grey noise – there’s just so much to wade through. And if you don’t fit in with this circle, or in that category, if what you see isn’t what you get, feeling ostracized becomes the norm. Finding your authentic self is a life-long process, sure to throw a couple of curveballs at you along the way.
Andrew De Leon is all too familiar with this notion. As someone who looks and acts differently than what’s around him and what he grew up with, Andrew always felt like an outsider. And with people commenting on his outward appearance, he’s gotten pretty used to it.
Growing up, Andrew looked up to rock bands like Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, and always had a vested interest in music. So when this 19-year-old make-up artist realized he had a voice, he spent quite some time rehearsing and practicing and perfecting his sound – but no one had ever heard him! He never performed in front of anyone before, not even his parents.
As he nervously walks on stage, judge Howard Stern immediately notices his shyness. In fact, all judges were curious and expectant. They presumed, based on his appearance, he would perform something heavy and hard, and with a rock edge. Instead, the judges and audience witness something entirely different. The moment he opened his mouth, a different kind of music and sound came out that had the crowd in tears. Andrew chose a genre no one saw coming and had every judge falling in love with him – his first time on stage ever!
Click below to watch Andrew melt the audience and judges.
