America’s Got Talent has shone a light on some phenomenal performances over its history, and the same is true of Cakra Khan who appeared on the show during the audition phase recently. The 31-year-old Indonesian wowed the judges and audience alike with his soulful sound.
Khan appeared on the stage with a bit of style, sure, but not necessarily the type that would stand out in a crowd, let’s say. Khan ended up pulling off a phenomenal audition, even when interrupted by Simon Cowell. After the back and forth of questions from the judges, where he revealed that if he won the prize money he would open an animal shelter, he talked about his love of blues and soul and that he would be performing “Make It Rain,” a song by the Northern Irish bluesy rock musician Foy Vance, which was covered by Ed Sheeran.
He was only about a minute into this rendition though when Cowell, oddly silent this season, waved his hand to cut off Khan. This happens often when Cowell will ask an artist if they brought another track, usually with the latter track working much better in the artist’s favor (we are sure this is all scripted and staged).
In this case, Khan was able to recover and stated that, yes, he did have another track telling Cowell, “I grew up with Bob Marley and my late father used to play this song all the time before I went to school.” He then delivered a stunning performance of the classic song, “No Woman, No Cry.” By the end the audience were on their feet as were the judges.
When the applause had calmed down, judge Heidi Clum effused, “You have a very unique, very sexy, very raspy voice, wow. You do have a voice that really stands out, that you will not forget. It’s very, very special.” Cowell added his agreement stating, “It’s so rare to hear voices like that,” adding, “I absolutely love your voice. Love it.” Sophie Vergara concurred, “You made it all yours. And that voice of yours is spectacular,” with Howie also jumping in to say “Very memorable, unique voice, everybody was on their feet. You could feel the emotion. You’re amazing.” Of course, he got all four yes votes to move on the next round.
Khan has been working as a musician for some time, his website bio reading, “Born in 1991, he’s been singing since he was a child and started writing songs at the age of 10.” He won a music competition back in 2010 that allowed him to launch his first single “Kekasih Bayangan.” He has since risen up through the music scene in Indonesia, and even had a No. 1 hit on Indonesian iTunes in 2017 with “Sebelah Hati.” He has also received numerous awards in the country including Best Male Solo Artist at the Anugerah Musik Indonesia Awards in 2013 and Best Male Solo Artist and Best Pop Album of the Year in 2014.
The singer/songwriter already has a strong social media following on Instagram, where he has 581K followers, and also on Twitter, both of which he has used to promote his audition performance. If you want to see more, stay tuned to America’s Got Talent airing on NBC every Wednesday.