40-Year-Old Contestant Leaves Judge in Tears

Epoch Newsroom
10/25/2015
Updated:
4/18/2016

Sherilyn Hamilton-Shaw left Simon Cowell and the other X Factor judges very impressed.

The mother of three began singing at age 13, but was forced to take a break when she turned 30 years old because her husband had a work accident that left him paralyzed for six months.

“I gave it all up to basically help him get back to fitness and learn to walk again and I never went back and now I’m here,” said the 40-year-old, who also runs a heart charity.

A decade after the accident, she got on stage to perform Whitney Houston’s “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.”

The judges were moved by Sherilyn’s performance.

“It’s ridiculous how much the words resonate with me and I understand you’ve been through some hard times,” judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini told the contestant. “It really touched us.”