Teen talent Harris appears on BBC’s The Voice

17 year-old Harris Hameed performed a blind audition on the Saturday night peak time programme before being evaluated by celebrity judges Sir Tom Jones, Rita Ora, Ricky Wilson and Will.i.am.

Unfortunately Harris, who sang a version of One Republic’s Apologise, was unable to progress to the next stage of the contest but received positive feedback from the bigwigs in the red chairs.

Sir Tom told Harris, who was 16 at the time of the recording, “I think you have a way to find yourself vocally but I love the way you sound.

“At 16...I’d get up and sing wherever I could, and if you’re determined to do it then you will do it!”

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Wilson added: “When I was 16, I’d sing in front of my mirror and want to be a rock star, but I never told anyone.

“You’re already way ahead of where I was and I did all right.”

Harris, who spoke to the Observer before the show was broadcast on Saturday night, said: “I was very nervous about what the judges had to say but it really, really did help and I’m really grateful to them for that.

“When I saw Will.i.am sat on the edge of his seat, my stomach just turned and it all went so quickly. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

And despite his early exit, Harris’ taste of TV has only fuelled his ambitions of producing music independently.

He added: “I’ve always wanted to be an artist. This isn’t the end of my career. The whole experience of The Voice has only helped me and I’m now very focused on my career.