If there was one reality television moment from 2011 that really made our allergies act up it was seeing 17-year-old X-Factor Australia contestant Emmanuel Kelly, who lives with limb deficiencies that are the result of chemical warfare in his native Iraq, perform a moving rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
Lennon’s true love and legendary peace enthusiast Yoko Ono got wind of the performance, praised Kelly’s performance on her website and tweeted the YouTube video link to her one-and-a-half million Twitter followers.
Now, after receiving more than 7 million YouTube hits, there are reports that the Melbourne teenager is heading Stateside for a shot at fame on Glee, the American song and dance show about celebrating the underdog.
According to the Herald Sun, producers of the show were alerted to Kelly’s talents and his own remarkable underdog story via Ono’s tweet. He will meet the casting directors and producers of Glee’s cast recruiting offshoot The Glee Project in January.
