'Britain's Got Talent' Malaki's mum: 'He'll cope just fine'

Published Apr 29 2012, 11:19 BST  |  By Colin Daniels

Britain's Got Talent star Malaki Paul will cope with the pressure of the show, according to his mum Toni Ann.

The 9-year-old, who said he was inspired to audition by former contestants Shaheen Jafargholi and Diversity, broke down in tears during his performance of Beyoncé's 'Listen' on last night's show (April 28).



"Obviously as his mum I felt very emotional watching him cry but I knew it was nothing more than a bit of stage fright and nerves as he had never performed in front of that many people before," Toni Ann told ITV.

Asked if she had regrets, she continued: "No, not at all. It's something he's always wanted to do. He auditioned for Britain's Got Talent two years ago and didn't get through to see the judges, so ever since then he's been saying, 'Mummy I want to go back', so I just supported him all the way.

"He loves singing and he loves his music. I'm not going to stop him; I'm going to support him all the way. I think he will cope just fine as he has a very strong network behind him. Not only does he have our family but a very strong network of support from his school.

"We all want to keep him grounded and happy. Lots and lots of practice will help him overcome nerves. I've always sung since I was little, it's something I've always loved doing. We're a very musical family."



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Malaki revealed he has been singing in front of as many people as he can to avoid being overcome by nerves during his next performance.

"My mum inspires me to sing," he said. "I wasn't that nervous until I got to the side of the stage. I don't know why I got nervous as there was a good crowd there and they were all clapping and cheering for me. The judges were really nice to me too.

"['Listen' is] special to me because the song says to me in the words - "My time has come for my dreams to be heard" - so it makes me want to follow my dreams which are to win Britain's Got Talent and to go on to be a recording artist and to sell albums and work with lots of other big artists like Beyoncé."