She Was Only 16 — Then She Took on a Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey Classic
At just 16 years old, Celine Polenghi walked onto The X Factor USA stage with a huge challenge ahead of her: performing “When You Believe,” the iconic song associated with Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
Celine approached the audition with confidence, telling the judges she believed she could win the competition. Then she began singing — and quickly showed why she had chosen such an ambitious song.
After the performance, Simon Cowell admitted it wasn’t perfect, but praised Celine’s potential and told her he could see a future pop star in front of him. The other judges also gave her their approval.
The result was unanimous: four YES votes, sending Celine through to the next stage of the competition. 👏🔥
🎬 Watch the full audition and see the moment Celine Polenghi earned four yeses!
