Nowadays, America's Got Talent and other competitive reality shows aren't the only ways amateur performers can get recognition.
Thanks to a mother from Somerset, Massachusetts, a singing babysitter is on her way to internet fame.
Nicki Maher stealthily filmed her 18-year-old babysitter, Delaney Wilson, effortlessly singing "Part of Your World" from Disney's The Little Mermaid as she and Maher's daughter play with dolls.
It is very evident the singing teen has impressive vocal chops.
"This is our babysitter," whispered Maher, a.k.a. @nickiunplugged on TikTok.
@nickiunplugged @delaneyreneemusic so happy you’re in our world 🧜♀️ #disney #singer #mom #babysitter #thevoice
"Her voice legit makes me cry," Maher told the camera as she tried to keep her emotions in check while listening to Wilson singing.
In the video, Maher said she was trying to encourage Wilson to "put her voice out there more." She added the teen easily gets discouraged because she doesn't like how she looks in her videos.
However, Maher said, "All I see is beauty," and said her kids felt the same.
The clip ended with the text encouraging viewers, "let's show her some love. So I can get here to sing for us more."
Sure enough, so much love and support for Wilson flooded the comments.
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
@nickiunplugged/TikTok
According to Fox News, two of Maher's friends had taught Wilson at the local school, and one of those friends confirmed the teen was blessed with vocal talent.
Maher was especially moved when she saw a TikTok clip of Wilson discovering she was accepted to her top college choice, the Berklee College of Music.
"It's OK if I don't," Wilson told herself in the video in anticipation of the good news.
@delaneyreneemusic Visit TikTok to discover videos!
When the teen finally opened the email, she and her mother screamed with joy. Their reaction moved Maher to tears.
"I was like, I love this type of little story. She seems so sweet. So I knew she was talented. And to get into Berklee is incredible in itself," said Maher.
Once Maher began working with Wilson, the mother asked why the teen didn't post more videos of herself singing on social media.
Maher recalled:
"That's when she said to me, 'I just overthink it and I never feel like I sound good enough and I just don't always feel confident in the way I look. And it just broke my heart."
She encouraged Wilson to watch the clip she filmed of her singing "Part of Your World."
"I said, 'Delaney, you need to hear, like, what I hear. You need to see what I see.'"
Maher said Wilson, at that moment, was able to see herself "through a different lens."
"It's not that she didn't know she had a talent that so many people have already told her she had."
"It's that she didn't hear it without knowing she was trying or that someone was watching. So that's why the video was so beautiful."
Wilson – who gave Maher permission to post the clip – said of her discovery:
"For me, it was like, wow, like I perform so differently when I don't know a camera is pointing at me."
She added:
"It's been absolutely crazy. I've gotten so many amazing, like, opportunities and just, I've met so many amazing people that have reached out and been so kind to me."
"So it's really helped my confidence and it makes me super happy to know that people do want to hear my voice."
It looks like the beginning of a bright future for this talented teen.
