Carol Bennett was shouting, "Yes, baby! Yes!" Diane tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't hold her. Carol caught her, held her up. Victoria sat frozen, face cycling through shock and something that looked like fear. Mr.
Harrison had his hands in the air, tears streaming. Good Lord, good lord above. Christopher Hayes stood, applauding so hard his hands hurt, face completely broken open, tears unchecked. He'd spent 20 years in the music industry. He'd heard every kind of talent.
This wasn't talent. This was something else entirely. Tiana stood on the stage breathing hard, confused by the reaction. She looked for her mama in the front row, found her. They locked eyes.
Diane mouthed, "I love you." Tiana mouthed back, "I love you more." Christopher watched this exchange, and something inside him shattered. The scoring began, Victoria forced to judge, her voice tight. It was adequate for what it was for a child. 7.0. The audience booed.
Actual booze in a community talent show. Someone shouted, "That's racist." Mr. Harrison turned to Victoria, genuinely angry. "Are you kidding? That was a 10.
A perfect 10. That child is a miracle." Christopher stood, voice breaking. I'm giving this an 11. I don't care if that's not protocol. He paused, struggling.
That performance was the most honest thing I've heard in 20 years in this industry. That little girl has a gift from God. 10.0. Average score 9.3. First place after preliminaries.
The auditorium exploded again. Tiana, small and overwhelmed, was being hugged by Carol and her mama and strangers. People were crying, phones everywhere, already posting, already sharing. Victoria stood abruptly and left the judge's table, her face white. Backstage, she pulled aside Brian Michaels, the competition coordinator.
They disappeared into an office. Through the small window, people could see them talking intensely. Victoria showing Brian something on her phone. Nobody noticed except Christopher Hayes who had followed them. He stood in the hallway outside the office listening.
Victoria's voice carried through the door. She's been posting covers online since she was seven. No licensing. That's copyright infringement. File the ethics complaint.
We can disqualify her before finals. Christopher's hands curled into fists. Finals were scheduled for next Thursday, 7 days away. Diane's surgery was scheduled for 18 days away, and Christopher had just heard Victoria plot to destroy his daughter's only chance to save her mother's life, the mother he had abandoned, had the woman he'd left with nothing. He pulled out his phone and started making calls.
The video hit the internet before Tiana even left the building. 10-Year-old stuns judges with emotional performance, read the first headline. Then another child's voice makes celebrity judge cry. Within an hour, three different angles of Tiana's performance were circulating on Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube. By midnight, the main video had 500,000 views.
By morning, 2.3 million had Riverside Girl started trending. Then masher 10-year-old powerhouse. Then someone made the connection. #waits Riverkid, the anonymous Soundcloud singer people had been following for years. The comments came in waves. Who is this child?
Someone sign her now. I'm literally sobbing at my desk. The judge crying. Christopher Hayes never shows emotion like that. Wait, she's been practicing since age seven?