March 1, 2024
When David Foster asked if anyone attending wanted to sing a song, woman and a young boy quickly volunteered. While the first audience member that warbled on that Friday night received polite applause for her number, when 14-year old Brody Bett stepped up to the microphone, he asked if he could perform - not from the audience as is usual - but onstage seated at the piano. Foster was initially reluctant but the fresh-faced, mop-topped youngster convinced him.
With crystal clarity, Brody Bett belted out an emotional rendition of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, a tune not easy to pull off - who could possibly compete with Art Garfunkel’s stunning vocal on the original?
When Brody sparked those final notes, the crowd leapt to their feet in a spontaneous, combustive commixture of cheering and applause.
VIDEO
Here’s the direct link to the video
In 2018, Brody Bett landed the juvenile lead, Jack/Michael, in Finding Neverland then in 2020 was cast as Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , both multimillion dollar Broadway touring companies.
It took a world-wide pandemic to end his 3-year run singing and dancing before audiences numbering in the tens of thousands night after night, all across the country.
After everything shut down, he almost immediately began working as a voice actor / singer for animated shows on Nickelodeon, Netflix, and others; he’s Rocky in the PAW Patrol: Grand Prix video game and Kakeru in episode 4 of the hit anime series Kotaro Lives Alone .
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It’s a regular feature of David Foster’s live show currently on tour, to pull a couple of folks out of the audience to perform a song. I have no clue how many of these unplanned moments are cringe-worthy or actually electric - but nothing short of lightning struck on February 23rd at the Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro, NC.
Turns out this ‘kid’ is a veteran of Broadway touring shows beginning at the improbable age of 8, playing the lead in 2 of the most popular productions from The Great White Way in recent years.
