9-Year-Old Celine Tam Flawlessly Singing "My Heart Will Go On" Is Mesmerizing
Howie Mandel said the 9-year-old "delivered it as good as" her idol, Céline Dion.
When 9-year-old Celine Tam walked onto the America’s Got Talent stage to audition in Season 12, the Judges had no idea the powerhouse singing voice they were about to hear. In fact, Howie Mandel said he was “shocked” when the young girl from Hong Kong (and major Céline Dion superfan) belted out a beautiful cover of “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic.
Read on to revisit Tam’s adorable and truly mind-blowing AGT Audition from 2017.
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9-year-old Celine Tam shocked the AGT Judges as she sang “My Heart Will Go On”
As Tam walked on the stage, she waved to the audience and sweetly introduced herself to Mandel, Heidi Klum, Mel B, and Simon Cowell. “My name is Celine and I’m 9 years old,” she said. “This is my dream being in America’s Got Talent.”
Tam then shared a detail with the Judges that revealed her whole family adores Grammy-winning Canadian singer Céline Dion. “I got a little sister. Her name is Dion,” she said before pointing to herself. “Celine and Dion!”
“So I’m guessing your parents love Céline Dion?” Mel B asked.
“Yes, of course!” Tam answered with a smile and then shared when she first realized she could sing. “I was in the car and my dad’s driving and then suddenly I just sang ‘My Heart Will Go On’ and then he was like ‘Wow!’”
As Mel B asked what kind of music she likes to listen to, Cowell took a wild guess. “Céline Dion,” he said, as Tam agreed and her parents giggled off to the side of the stage.
“What is your big dream?” Mel B then asked with Cowell, again, hilariously chiming in, “To be the next Céline Dion!”
Tam, however, clarified that being on AGT “is my dream!”
“Celine, can I ask you a question?” Cowell asked, though he already knew the answer. “What artist are you gonna be singing?”
“Céline Dion, duh!” Tam adorably replied.
And Tam certainly did her idol justice with her cover of “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic soundtrack and the singer’s 1997 album Let's Talk About Love.
The Judges sat in awe as she began to sing the first few lyrics of the song. But as Tam belted out “You’re here, there’s nothing I fear” from the chorus, the audience gave her a standing ovation. And once she finished, all four Judges also stood up as they applauded her performance.
“Celine, I want to know, that’s obviously not you singing, so who’s that singing?” Cowell jokingly asked Tam.
“It’s me!” she answered.
“It’s 100% you? Okay, well then you are incredible,” Cowell said.
Mandel echoed Cowell’s thoughts in a backstage interview. “She delivered it as good as Céline, it was like a mini-me,” he said. “That was pretty amazing, it really was.”
How far did Celine Tam go in America’s Got Talent Season 12?
After her stunning audition, Tam advanced to the next round of AGT Season 12. She was ultimately eliminated in the Semifinals. Darci Lynne Farmer, just 12 at the time, would go on to win that season, becoming the female ventriloquist to win the competition.
At the time, Tam thanked all her fans for their love and support in a video message. “America's Got Talent has changed my life a lot because my friends and all my fans had been very crazy. They’re like ‘Can I take a picture with you!?’” she said with a big smile. “I just feel amazing.”
During her time on AGT, Tam also got an invite to see Dion perform live, directly from the singer herself. “Congrats! You did an amazing job on @AGT!” Dion tweeted in September 2017. “If ever you and your family are in Las Vegas I would love for you to be guests at my show! “
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Where is Celine Tam now?
In 2025, Tam is now 17 years old and is still passionate about singing. Her official YouTube channel has over 1.1 million subscribers and is full of videos of her singing, including covers of Adele’s “All I Ask” and “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys.
