LIFE & CULTURE

This Viral Sensation Is The Internet’s New Obsession

BRB, crying

Get ready, you may just reach your 2019 quota for crying in the next 10 minutes. 

Andrew, a 21-year-old man with Down Syndrome, has become 2019’s first viral sensation (minus the Golden Globes’ Fiji Water Girl). 

Appearing on BBC’s The Greatest Dancer, Andrew’s amazing audition quickly made the rounds on social media and the Internet couldn’t get enough. 

The show description reads, “The audition takes place in a dance studio like no other — dancers will perform in front of a mirror which has an audience on the other side, watching and voting if they like the performance or not.

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“If 75 per cent of the audience vote to say they like what they see, the mirror will open and the dancer will go through to the next stages of the competition and be mentored by one of the Dance Captains (Cheryl, Matthew Morrison and Oti Mabuse). But fail to hit 75 per cent and they’ll be dancing alone and not progress any further.”

Watch Andrew’s audition in full below:

The show is produced by Simon Cowell’s company, Syco, making it no surprise the show is a hit. 

Speaking ahead of his audition, Andrew’s mum Donna explains that her son discovered dancing by watching Strictly Come Dancing on TV over 10 years ago. 

“He used to re-enact all the dances in our living room,” she said. “It just made him feel joyful.”

Choosing Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling, Andrew appeared nervous before getting into the groove of the song. But, after just 35 seconds Andrew made his way to the next round. 

As the mirror opened and Andrew saw the huge crowd cheering him on, he was visibly overwhelmed and stopped dancing momentarily before his mum encouraged him to keep going.

greatest dancer
(Credit: BBC)

Andrew received a standing ovation from the crowd and two of the judges were in tears. 

“I just feel really moved by the whole thing,” dance captain Cheryl commented.

“That was amazing and to watch you and see your excitement and see how much you thrive from an audience is such a special moment.

“You should be really proud of yourself. You clearly need to be doing this more because it does something for your soul.”

greatest dancer
(Credit: BBC)

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Judge Matthew Morrison agreed, saying, “I think you’re gonna inspire a lot people with that performance”.

If you thought you were done with the tears then…

Producers brought Andrew’s best friend Tom onto the stage to congratulate his friend. 

The pair quickly embraced, and cheered together to the crowd. 

andrew
(Credit: BBC)

Twitter also went wild for Andrew’s performance. 

https://twitter.com/Jordan_Banjo/status/1081658768306376704
https://twitter.com/Mickybirdman/status/1081658089252814848

This article originally appeared on InStyle Australia

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