Justin Bieber has announced himself as a fan of Britain’s Got Talent sensation Michael Collings.
Collings, 22, took Britain by storm on with his rendition of Tracey Chapman’s Fast Car. After initially being looked upon dubiously by judges Amanda Holden, David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre, he received a standing ovation from both them and the live audience.
His perfromance has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube – and even Canadian pop star Bieber has seen it.
The 17-year-old, who got his break through the video-sharing site, said Collings was the new Susan Boyle.
“He really was an amazingly talented guy,” Bieber said. “I am sure his life will never be the same again,”
He continued: “It’s a cliché but these shows were designed for people like Michael.
“You’d think, after Susan Boyle, people would be prepared for the unexpected. But I still don’t think anybody expected that.
About 11 million viewers watched Collings on ITV1 and he is already the bookies’ favourite, paying of 9/1 to win.
Yesterday, the IT engineer – who lives with his girlfriend Sarah and eight-week baby Jamie – said YouTube had already changed his life.
He learned to play the guitar by watching videos of stars on the website, because his parents were too skint to buy lessons.
He said: “I’d see how it was done and copied what I saw. I had a real passion for it.”
Michael told Daybreak he was still reeling at his success from Saturday.
He said: “I’m speechless. I definitely wasn’t expecting this. I was expecting a crowd response. But it was amazing – the standing ovation and cheering. It was a shock to my system.”
