Loren Allred was already a superstar before appearing on the stage of “Britain’s Got Talent,” but apparently nobody there actually knew that. She opened with the statement that some of the people probably already know her voice, just not her face. Upon clarifying that she is the one who sang “Never Enough” from the legendary Michael Gracey musical entitled “The Greatest Showman,” all four judges were dumbfounded.
She had come all the way from Brooklyn, New York City to England to participate, because most of her favorite singers are from the United Kingdom. She was never supposed to perform the actual song in the film, but was instead hired to do the reference vocals so that the actresses could copy it from her. However, as the process turned out to be quite complicated, actress Rebecca Ferguson, who played Jenny Lind in the movie, suggested that Loren simply perform the song herself while the actress lip syncs.
Simon confusedly then asked ‘So, you sang one of the biggest songs of all time. You’ve now revealed it wasn’t the actress who sang the song in the movie. It was you singing that song, so why didn’t you get that big deal after the song?’
Allred responded by explaining how, at the time, she didn’t really want fame for her achievements, and preferred to stay out of the limelight. This would’ve continued to be the case, but she eventually realized that the song was actually meant for her, and so she came to one of the planet’s most popular stages to finally claim her vocal masterpiece, and perform it for the audience.
As soon as the music started and she opened the mouth, it was clear to anyone who had seen the film, that the song was indeed hers. The judges stared in a rarely seen awe, since most contestants have never previously had their breakthrough, but Loren’s talent was already widely recognized and admired, though attributed to the wrong person.
The entire audience was standing way before Loren finished singing, clapping in unison right as Allred sang the last of the lyrics. Without so much as a word, judge Amanda Holden pressed the golden buzzer and went to the stage to hug the singer. She returned to her chair and said ‘I am absolutely shaking. I can’t believe I’ve had this incredible opportunity to give you your moment to shine, ‘cause this is it.’
David Walliams spoke right after, affirming Amanda’s comments in stating ‘We were just in the palm of your hand from the first note. I can’t think there’s been any experiences in the show where we ever had that feeling.’ Alesha Dixon added ‘It feels like a superstar’s arrived. It transcended. It was otherworldly.’
It was finally Cowell’s turn to speak, at which point he said ‘This is so well deserved, because seeing somebody else sing that song, in that movie, and not have the recognition of doing one of the most incredible vocals ever, and, now, for you to kind of reveal yourself to the world.’ He named this one of the most incredible audition moments he had ever experienced, and finished with ‘I’m speechless. I’m so happy.’ With Amanda’s golden buzzer, she went straight to the live shows.
Loren’s semi-final performance
Her snowballing fame from having an incredible voice was much bigger the second time around, at which point everyone knew exactly who she was. It was the semi-finals of 2022’s 15th season of “Britain’s Got Talent,” and Loren emerged from the backstage in a classy, luxurious white dress to preform “You Say” by Lauren Daigle – the lead single from her third studio album that showcases the full power of her voice. The stage seemed to be decorated with rows of broken diamonds, as something resembling stardust would fall behind the singer.
She finished with another standing ovation, but the judges were seated this time. Amanda said ‘Gosh, I am honestly, you knocked it out of the park again. What was beautiful was the song, the lyrics, the breath, the control, absolutely everything about it was astonishing, and it was nice to hear a different part of your voice. It was a great song choice, I thought.’
Amanda kept going, explaining to the star that her choice of a different song for this part of the competition was the right thing to do, as there was more of her voice to be heard by the world, and she found the perfect way to do that. She finished her comment with ‘It’s just been lovely – sort of getting to know you to know you a little bit, and seeing who you are, and seeing you kind of come out of the shadows, and have the courage to take that microphone and show us who you really are. It was a beautiful performance. Well done.’
Simon confidently took his turn, stating ‘It’s both a blessing and a curse when you’re known for singing one of the biggest songs of all time, and you could’ve easily taken the easy route, which is, you know, sing that song again, because we love it so much.’ He called her ‘incredibly brave’ for coming into the show and flying over to the UK out of respect for their audience.
He said ‘I’m frustrated because that wasn’t long enough. Instead, we had these weirdo robots, which lasted forever, and I wanted to hear the song longer.’ He detailed how the media saw Loren as a somewhat less exciting contestant due to the fact that she’d already been in “The Voice” 10 years prior.
In Simon’s words, ‘That’s the whole point of shows like this. It’s that you give people a second chance. And, you know, we haven’t had a female winner this week so far. I hope you change that after tonight.’
David then commented, stating ‘Everyone has been talking about your audition. You know, since it was on TV. I was actually really starstruck meeting you. Oh my goodness me, it’s really her, this girl with this incredible, incredible talent!’ He re-affirmed Simon and Amanda’s comments, agreeing that he’s really glad she sang a different song. Finally, he said ‘You’re an incredible artist, with an incredible voice, and we could be looking at the winner of “Britain’s Got Talent.”’
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Alesha was thoroughly enchanted by Loren, adding ‘I think you have just as much right to be in this competition as everyone else. In fact, I think it’s harder for you, and I personally feel like that performance is in a league of its own. You have a voice like velvet.’ She finished by saying she’d love to see Loren in the finals – her wish came true.
Allred’s ultimate spectacle in “Britain’s Got Talent”
Loren wrote and performed her own song in her best attempt to win the competition, singing “Last Thing I’ll Ever Need.” When she finished this time, every single person in the studio was standing and clapping, including the judges.
Amanda started off by calling it beautiful and reiterating the comments from the semi-finals, especially the part about Loren having set such sky-high expectations, and difficult to best. After that she said ‘What was wonderful for me to witness tonight was how much heart, and soul, and passion, and authentic truth poured out of you, because you were singing something that you wrote about somebody you loved.’
Impressed with her from the beginning, Simon was happy to say his piece, complimenting her for picking her own song instead of an easy option, as “Never Enough” would’ve been extremely well received by the audience even for a second time. After that he said ‘Actually you’re just a fantastic singer – an artist who should be with a record label, or on Broadway, or on the West End. We got to know you as a person. I am so thrilled that you are in this final and you did what you wanted to do.’
David was very brief, stating ‘I know I’ve gotta be super quick, so, Lauren, you showed, once again, that you are a superstar. Well done.’ Alesha immediately continued with ‘It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, Lauren. I’ve seen this journey. You’re a superstar, I said it to you the first day that I met you, and I can’t wait to see what happens with the rest of your career. You’re gorgeous. Well done. I loved it.’
Although she wowed the whole world with rarely witnessed talent, Lauren placed ninth out of 11 on 5 June 2022, when the show was concluded. Nevertheless, the amount of coverage she got while in the show is sure to propel her into never-before-seen career heights.
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The origins of a superstar
Loren was born on 7 September 1989, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York City. She is older than her three sisters – Brennan, Karin and Megan. Her interest in music was nurtured from the beginning thanks to her parents – Loren’s mother is Carol Ann Allred, a classical soprano teacher, while Loren’s father Brady R. Allred used to be the director of the Pittsburgh Bach Choir, as well as the conductor and artistic director of Salt Lake Choral Artists.
She studied musical theatre at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah for approximately a year, but transferred in 2009 to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, at which point she started uploading videos of herself singing onto YouTube. She tried out for “The Voice” in 2012, at the age of 24, and passed the blind audition by performing “When Love Takes Over,” turning two coach chairs and joining Team Adam.
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In the Battles part of the show she sang “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum against Brian Scartocci, passing into the knockouts, in which she performed “You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse against contestant Nicole Nelson. Loren made it all the way to the live playoffs, but was eliminated after singing “All Around the World.”
In 2014 she joined a recording ensemble for “The Greatest Showman,” and eventually given the voice of Rebecca Ferguson’s character Jenny Lind. The song went Platinum, and topped the Billboard albums chart in January 2018, at which point “Never Enough” was 88th on the Hot 100.
Her song received two Platinum, one Gold and one Silver award in the UK only, while her reprise of the original, which is treated as a different song, received a Silver and Gold award as well.
What Loren does today
Following her legendary success on the big screen, it could be said that no door is shut for Loren in the world of music. Even before “Britain’s Got Talent,” in 2021, she had already been touring the US with legendary Italian singer Andrea Bocelli. In his Facebook post, the singer mentioned Loren Allred as the perfect example of an artist who can move a listener thanks to her life experience.
Andrea said ‘A versatile musician raised in the arts, I remember how pleasantly surprised I was when we sang together for the first time in Saudi Arabia. I am delighted to soon be able to return to the stage with Loren, in that great country that is her homeland and my adoptive homeland.’
Head over to @YouTube to hear my rendition of @JourneyOfficial #faithfully ! Hope you enjoy!
XOXO, Loren https://t.co/uCU3zHpeZ1P.S. If there’s anything you’d like to hear me sing in my next video, leave a comment below! 💛 pic.twitter.com/UemNz7W4ZY
— Loren Allred (@lorenallred) January 11, 2021
As before with legends, Loren now occasionally tours the US on her own, or sometimes another country, such as her latest performance of “Last Thing I’ll Ever Need” at the Omaera music venue in London. Like many others, this performance is posted on her own YouTube channel, which now has close to 500,000 subscribers, and nearly 90 million total views, and is used to promote Allred’s budding career.
Lastly, her EP entitled “Late Bloomer” came out in 2021, and all of the currently released songs can be found on the channel as well. Producing brand new and uniquely personal songs is now Loren’s main focus.
