Courtney Hadwin has never been the type of artist to fit inside a perfect pop-star box and now, at 21, she’s finally saying it out loud. With her original track “Sixteen,” a deeply personal song she says had the biggest impact on her during recording, Hadwin is openly “sticking her fingers up to the people” who once told her the song wasn’t good enough to ever make an album.
It’s a full-circle moment for the British powerhouse, who shot to global fame at just 13 years old when her explosive America’s Got Talent audition left judges and viewers stunned.
Instead of being shaped into the industry’s next polished teen product, Hadwin chose a harder but truer path — one built on raw vocals, jagged edges, and stories she refused to hide.
Now she steps fully into her artistry with the release of her long-awaited debut album Little Miss Jagged, a record she says has been forming “since I was 16 without even realising it.”
“I feel like I’ve just given the internet my personal diary,” she admits. “It’s scary but I love the thrill of it.”
A Song She Was Told Would Fail Became Her Most Emotional Track
“Sixteen,” now Track No.10 on the album, was originally written when Hadwin was actually 16 years old. At the time, industry voices dismissed it — telling her it wasn’t strong enough and didn’t belong anywhere near an album. She never forgot it.
When she became independent at 20, she revisited the song, rewriting the lyrics as a message to her younger self.
“Recording that took me right back to how strange my life was,” she says. “How much pressure I was under at such a young age.”
And now that it’s finally out?
“I’m so glad I wrote that song. I love that I’m sticking my fingers up to the people who said it wasn’t good enough — because look, it made the album!”
Fans around the world agree — flooding her comment section with emotional messages:
“Voice, beautiful songs… with Angelina Jordan, you are the stars of the moment.”
“I love this one ❤️ very great song lyrics.”
“Beautiful song and beautiful woman.”
“I always knew you were a STAR… NO ONE ELSE HAS THIS GORGEOUS VOICE SIGNATURE.”
“This song is the heart of the album. ❤”
“No one out there with a voice like this, period.”
“This song is pure emotion! Greetings from Germany! 🌹”
Some fans even dream of seeing her in duets with other powerhouse voices like Charlotte Summers, calling the idea “a fantastic pleasure for the audience.”
From Viral Teen to Fearless Adult Artist
Hadwin’s journey hasn’t been easy. As a teenager, she was placed in writing rooms with adults and told to create music even though she had barely lived life outside school.
“How are you supposed to write songs people relate to when you’re 13?” she asks. “I needed to live before I could be a real songwriter.”
When she watches her old AGT audition now, she says her younger self would be shocked — and proud.
“I used to care so much about what people thought. Every hate comment hit me hard. But now? I honestly couldn’t care less. I’m writing for me.”
And she’s doing it her way.
Her latest single, “All The Love (Money Can Buy),” is a fire-filled blast of rock and soul that she calls “a big F-you song you can scream in the car.” It sets the stage for Little Miss Jagged, which refuses to stick to one genre — shifting from Motown grit to pop-punk edges to soul-rock thunder.
