Liam McNally was just 14 when he made it to the finals of the reality television competition Britain’s Got Talent in 2010. At the time, the fresh-faced young man seemed a bit too naive for the big time.

The young singer took the stage to sing the Irish ballad “Danny Boy,” which got judges rolling their eyes a bit along with his insistence that in 5 years his goal was to be singing in large venues around the world.

“I love singing so much. I wake up singing every day,” he said in the interview before his performance.

Ok, kid.

But we all know what happens as soon as you underestimate someone on these shows – they prove you wrong.

As McNally began to sing in his lovely soprano voice, the judges all sat up a little straighter. Eyebrows went up. People started paying attention.

Simon Cowell cocked his head in both curiosity and interest. Was that sound really coming out of the young man on stage?

His choir boy voice filled every corner of the auditorium with minimal piano as backup.

Both powerful and able to hit the high notes, McNally’s voice became a fan favorite right then and there. In fact, he put his whole vocal range on display that evening, all of it flawless.

By the end of the performance, the entire audience was cheering for the teen, but it was time for the judges to have their fun.

“Well, I wouldn’t call you a good singer,” said Cowell in his traditionally cranky way.

But there was a catch:

“I wouldn’t. I would call you a fantastic singer!”

After booing the first comment, the audience was now cheering again, shoring up McNally’s confidence.

Piers Morgan was next up and asked about the boy’s lack of training:

“You’ve had no proper training? You practice in your room?”

No, in fact when he auditioned for the show he was entirely self-taught with no formal training. He simply listened to music in his room and sang along.

The judge was taken aback and admitted he really had a shot at being a singer:

“It’s probably too early to say this, but you are a serious contender to win Britain’s Got Talent.”

Judge Amanda Holden also heaped praise on McNally.

With three “yes” votes, he was off to the next round.

His performance of “Danny Boy” was so popular that he sang it again in the finals.

While he wouldn’t go on to win that year, he did continue to sing. But first, he took a break in 2015 when the inevitable happened – puberty. His voice changed and he was waiting to see what it would sound like afterward.

“I always knew this was coming so I have been readying myself for it. It’s quite exciting because I don’t know what my voice will sound like when it does slide. Andrea Bocelli started out as a soprano and so did Gareth Gates so there are a lot of options open to me,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

At 15, Liam was a baritone, not a soprano and he went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Scroll down below to watch the video of Liam McNally singing “Danny Boy” at his audition.

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Source: Britain’s Got Talent via YouTube, Manchester Evening News