Talent show star Paul Potts performs stunning rendition of Nessun Dorma

He shot to fame as the underdog that won the first ever series of Britain’s Got Talent with an incredible rendition of Pavarotti’s opera classic ‘Nessun Dorma’.

And now singing sensation Paul Potts, 48, has recreated that memorable moment once again on stage, showing off his amazing vocals with a pitch-perfect performance of the song on America’s Got Talent: The Champions.

Taking to the stage to take on the likes of Susan Boyle in the finals of the talent show, Paul got a standing ovation from judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel as he hit every note perfectly.

The star appeared in a short video before his performance alongside his beloved wife, and thanked her for always standing by him – even when financial struggles put his career under strain.

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“She always wanted me to continue doing what I love, even when we couldn’t afford for me to do it,” he said on camera. “Before Britain’s Got Talent, we were struggling.”

Appearing next to him, his wife added: “Things were tough. Paul, at times, was working two jobs and I was working my job plus overtime. We were just trying to make it work day by day. But I always believed in his opera.”

As the judges praised Paul for his beautiful performance, Simon told the singer: “[I was] more than moved. The underdog that was written off by the music business, won the first series of Britain’s Got Talent and got the career you wanted… That is why you are on the final of Champions, because you are a champion. I have a feeling you’ve got a really good chance of winning after that.”

While Paul appeared emotional, he then took the microphone to pay his own tribute to the late singer Neal E. Boyd, who sadly died last year from heart and kidney failure after winning America’s Got Talent in 2008.

“There is an America’s Got Talent winner that isn’t here tonight – Neal E. Boyd,” he said. “Like me, he came on as an underdog, he gave his all, he won, and one thing you can never take away is he is a champion. He is a winner.”

Paul originally shot to fame when he appeared for his audition on the British talent show in 2007, revealing to the judges that he was a manager at phone store Carphone Warehouse at the time.

Read more: Talent show winner returns to stage with breathtaking opera performance

Despite all three of the judges appearing to expect the worse, they were all blown away when he performed a flawless rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’ – even reducing UK judge Amanda Holden to tears. He went on to perform the same song in the final and won the show.

He will now take on Susan Boyle for a chance of winning the Champions show, after she also recreated her classic audition song ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ in the final.

Her emotional performance brought back bittersweet memories for judge Simon, who said he was transported back to Susan’s first ever audition in Glasgow in 2009 whilst he listened to her sing.

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“Oh my god Susan,” he said. “That really, really took me back all those years.

“I can remember vividly how disgusting I was on the day before you sang and then what you did and what happened afterwards. And to end the show, it’s been an amazing night, I mean seriously it was fantastic. You’re a champion.”

Read more: Simon Cowell tells Susan Boyle he was ‘disgusting’ at her first audition

Susan, who is notoriously shy, then blew Simon a kiss before telling host Terry Crews: “I’ve enjoyed every second and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being in America. Thank you all so much.”

What did you think of Paul’s performance? Who do you want to win the show?