Simon Cowell and his fellow ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judges were left fighting back tears when a Grenfell Tower survivor tried out at the show’s auditions.
Leanne Mya sang a version of Sam Smith’s hit ‘Lay Me Down’ at the London Pallidum on Wednesday (23.01.19), and Simon – who was sat alongside fellow panellists Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams – described her performance as "a moment with a capital M".
Speaking to Leanne – who lived in the London tower block, which was destroyed by a fire in June 2017 causing 72 deaths, with her boyfriend and young son – Simon said: "You should be very proud.
"It’s really important what you just did because it’s easy to forget something like that with everything that’s going on in the world.
"For everyone who lost their lives and had all this crap thrown at them, you’ve had the courage to come out here and pay tribute. You did something very special for them and for you.
"That’s what I call a moment with a capital ‘M’."
Amanda praised Leanne – who recently gave evidence in the enquiry about the disaster – for an "effortless" performance, after she showed signs of nerves.
According to The Sun’s Bizarre TV column, she said: "You were so terrified and so nervous but you delivered that song and it was effortless.
"You have a massive future ahead of you, that was stunning."
Simon previously donated £100,000 of his money to the Artists For Grenfell fundraiser, a charity supporting Grenfell victims and survivors, and admitted he felt "angry and upset" while watching the blaze on the news.
He said: "I felt how everyone felt when they saw the news. I was angry, upset, thinking what the hell do you do?"
"It’s not far from where I live, so when I drove up there, and you saw this tower, it wasn’t great.
"And that’s when you decide that maybe we could do something to help.
"You kind of think, what can I do?"
Simon also put together a charity single, which featured the likes of Robbie Williams, Stormzy and Brian May performing a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, to raise money for those affected.
Simon Cowell fought back tears at BGT auditions
