Bullying made me stronger ...I was never going to give up. Singing is my passion
I want to thank the bullies... because it’s made me who I am KYLE TOMLINSON ON JIBES THAT SPURRED HIM
TAKING the mic as he prepared to sing to a packed pub, the DJ introduced young Kyle Tomlinson as “the star of the future”. The boy was on holiday in Benidorm with his family and received rapturous applause from the crowd.
But fast-forward a year, and he was rejected by all four judges when he auditioned on Britain’s Got Talent, with even kind-hearted David Walliams telling him to go away and get singing lessons.
Most 12-year-olds would have given up after such criticism, but not Kyle.
He dried his eyes, brushed himself off and the next day took the judge’s advice.
Three years on, he bravely returned to face the music. And this time, his emotional rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah not only earned him a standing ovation, David also hit his golden buzzer – bagging Kyle an automatic place in the semi-finals. And he’s in the first one tonight.The 15-yearold says: “Singing is my passion. I wasn’t going to give up. It was three years of hard work and I wanted to prove him right. If it wasn’t for David I wouldn’t be here now.”
Kyle, who lives with parents, Shaun, 46, and Terri, 47 in Sheffield, reveals it is not just David he has to thank – but the school bullies who made his life hell.
The teenager suffered physical attacks and mental torture in primary school because of his size and love of singing. He laughs: “I don’t think those two mix. I sang theatre songs a lot. It wasn’t cool.
“People thought I should be singing rap music. But it doesn’t go with me.”
On one occasion, he was smashed across the face with a metal scooter by bullies. Kyle says: “Mum was scared to death for me to go to school because she didn’t know what was going to happen.”
The abuse was so bad that Kyle admits there were days when he didn’t want to go to school. He says: “People were saying, ‘You’re gay, you’re fat, you’re this and you’re that...’
“People would take advantage of little