“She’s terrified,” said judge Howie Mandel as Sam Babin hit the Canada’s Got Talent stage. Sam had the audition from hell – nerves off the charts and she didn’t even know she was going to be auditioning, after being roped in by her sister at the last minute. But she rose to the occasion by singing a haunting rendition of Radiohead’s most iconic ballad, “Creep”. Sam’s voice has a blend of soul and vulnerability that was just perfect for the 1992 outsider anthem.

Sam got the crowd onside with a delicate opening verse, and then knocked her audition out of the park when she let her voice soar for that iconic chorus. She even got a laugh out of Howie when she hammed up the “What the hell am I doing here?” lyric, referencing her confusion about the surprise audition. The Music Man readers will definitely want to tune in to the bridge from 1:30 onwards where Sam hits those majestic high notes like a boss.

Sam’s audition brought the house down, and she teared up at the end and admitted she never thought she could do this, but the judges said she was in the right place! Viewers added comments such as “We want more Sam. You blew the lid off the universe” and “It takes guts to stand on a stage in front of a huge crowd, let alone with very little preparation. Secondly, for a sibling to do this for her sister demonstrates love and support. There is no way this girl would have put herself out there otherwise!”

There’s something about “Creep” that’s perfect for making magical performances, it seems. One of The Music Man’s favorite covers of the song is Homeless Mustard’s solo acoustic rendition on The Opie & Anthony Show. Homeless Mustard has an incredible husky and soulful voice, and absolutely no one else sounds like him. I’ve also never heard anyone else channel the pain and angst of Thom Yorke’s lyrics so powerfully. The live studio recording became the most popular clip from the show, drawing 41 million views.

Sam Babin is a Canadian singer from Moncton, New Brunswick, who appeared on season four of Canada’s Got Talent. Sam and her sister traveled to Niagara Falls, with her sister claiming they had won an all-expenses-paid trip to watch the Canada’s Got Talent auditions there. Her sister instead got her to audition for the show, giving her scant time to prepare. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that Sam got four yes votes from the judges after her surprise audition. This sent her through to the next round. However, she doesn’t appear to have made a second appearance on the show, so perhaps she was eliminated from the competition during the judges’ cuts.