SUSAN Boyle mania is officially over — there’s a new British reality show YouTube star in town and he’ll be on “Today” tomorrow.
Eager to get a jump on the popularity train, NBC has confirmed that 27-year-old school teacher Danyl Johnson is coming to the U.S. to make his first American appearance on the morning show.
Watch Danyl Johnson’s Audition Video
His invitation was based on the mega-interest generated by clips of his “The X Factor” audition which hit YouTube over the weekend. The clips drew more than one million hits in three days as people flocked to their computers to see why, according to news reports, Simon Cowell, the series’ creator, called Johnson’s performance last Saturday “single-handedly, the best first audition I’ve ever heard,” adding that “he could be one of the best contestants we’ve ever had.”
What they saw was Johnson prowling the stage while performing the Beatles hit “With A Little Help From My Friends” on the UK talent show.
Johnson, an experienced performer who teaches at several arts schools, was a member of the boy band Street Level and had actually tried to audition for “The X Factor” in 2006, but was sent home before he could hit the stage.
After watching the audition tape and hearing Johnson’s story, Matt Lauer gushed about his “great range, but he’s also got this incredible presence. It’s just extraordinary.”