An 11-year-old boy named D’Corey Johnson brought the house down with his powerful performance of Journey’s ‘Open Arms’ on America’s Got Talent Season 18.
Standing on that huge stage, D’Corey looked every bit a young man full of big dreams. “I wanna be on Broadway and I wanna be in movies and I want to be in Hamilton and Wicked,” he shared honestly.
He explained why he likes judge Simon Cowell with a pure smile: “he keeps it real like my momma.” Many of us know what it feels like to have dreams that seem so much bigger than we are.
When the music began, D’Corey delivered every word of “Open Arms” with pure emotion. His voice soared as he sang, “So here I am/ With open arms/ Hoping you’ll see/ What your love means to me/ Open arms.” His vocals filled the auditorium and brought the crowd to their feet.
Simon Cowell, often hard to impress, asked D’Corey to sing the chorus again, but this time with no music at all. D’Corey bravely did it.
His voice echoed through the silent room, strong and true. It was so moving that the audience rose to their feet once more.
Even Simon stood up and clapped, and D’Corey, overwhelmed with emotion, wiped tears from his face.
Journey’s “Open Arms,” a song that once climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1982, found new life in D’Corey’s young voice.
His performance was a beautiful reminder of courage, hope, and the gifts God places in each of us.
