authorThough I’m not a mother myself—I know that all parents say the same thing: there is nothing greater than the love for your child. This man felt no different for his son.
Johnny Shelton, a 25-year-old man from Tampa, Florida, decided that he was going to audition for America’s Got Talent. He would be singing while playing the guitar, and though both the singing and playing were exceptional, it was the song — more importantly, the meaning for the song — that left a mark on our hearts.
When on stage, after introducing himself, Shelton announces that he’s going to perform an original song, one that he wrote for his son. The audience reacts with the appropriate aw, that is until he breaks everyone’s heart a second after.
The song he wrote was for his son who had died a year and a half ago. Though he doesn’t share his name, the boy had lost a battle to a type of lymph node cancer on his fifth birthday.
Shelton shared, “The one thing I always wanted to put in my son’s mind was that no matter what happens in the world know love and joy because the world doesn’t need any more hate in it.”
And before he steps onto the stage he says, “Being able to do this right here, I think that it’d make him smile.”
On stage, he begins to sing the song that broke everyone’s hearts but also reminded us of the most important thing in life: love. Thus the song title “That’s Love.”
He sings, “I got one thing that money couldn’t buy—that’s love.” And later in the song, “Leave me poor as a bum, but I will still be satisfied with love.”
After his performance, he received a standing ovation from judges Howie, Heidi and the audience. Both judges tell him that it was a special performance, and all four judges give him a “yes.”
If you’d like to hear the beautiful song, here’s the video!
