Nine years old. One semi-final stage. And a moment that left the entire audience breathless. âJust a miniature version⊠but the voice is anything but small.â Emma Cerchi stepped onto the stage of The Voice Kids France and sang âMy Heart Will Go Onââa song that has sold over 18 million copies worldwideâwith a clear yet powerful voice. At an age when many children are still afraid of the spotlight, Emma stunned the judges and silenced the audience. Each line was a powerful affirmation of resilience, as she smiled in the face of a disease that was gradually taking away her sight. And from that moment, the nine-year-old girl went straight to becoming the youngest champion in the history of the show.
9-year-old Emma Cerchi, The Voice Kids Franceâs youngest ever winner, floored the judges with her audition of Celine Dionâs âMy Heart Will Go Onâ.
Tiny Emma Cerchi, 9, stunned the judges with a beautiful rendition of Celine Dionâs famous song on the fifth season of The Voice Kids France.
The youngster, who suffers from a genetic eye disease that is gradually turning her blind, was competing in the semi-final of the show when she gave the spectacular performance.
Singing âMy Heart Will Go Onâ by Celine Dion is no mean feat even for the most experienced of singers, but the 9-year-old blew away the audience and judges with her voice, which saw her go on to win the final of the 2018 show.
Emma Cerchi suffers from LĂ©berâs congenital amaurosis, a genetic disease which causes her to gradually lose her sight, but since winning The Voice Kids has spoken about her want to be treated normally.
âI was two-and-a-half years old when I was detecting spots in my eyes. My parents told me that I stumbled at the slightest obstacle,â she told Journal du Dimanche in February 2020.
After going to see numerous specialists, an ophthalmologist told her family that they were in a race against time for scientists to find an antidote.
âIf research fails to find a cure, I will go blind,â she said, adding âI donât want to feel different from the others. I have my games, my buddies, my girlfriends, which have not changed since my victory at The Voice Kids.â
Watch the video in full below:
CĂ©line Dion â My heart will go on | Emma | The Voice Kids France 2018 | Demi-finale

Watch this adorable kid absolutely nail Celine Dion cover
Emmaâs beautiful performance at such a young age is just one of the many talents to emerge from The Voice Kids, which now has TV shows across the world including Spain, Belgium and Italy and as far afield as Mexico, The Philippines and Russia.
The 2020 UK version of the show saw a plethora of incredibly talented youngsters compete to be crowned the winner, under the increasingly difficult measures of COVID-19âs lockdowns and social distancing.
In August, George Elliot, 10, stunned the UKâs The Voice Kids judges with a stunning performance of Queenâs âRadio Gagaâ in the showâs semi-final and 12-year-old Dara sang Whitney Houstonâs âI Have Nothingâ to a huge reaction from the judges.
The youngest ever finalist on the show, 7-year-old Victoria Alsina, sang a beautiful rendition of Mariah Careyâs âHeroâ but 2020âs winner was Justine Afante, 13, who was crowned after singing flawless covers of Whitney Houstonâs âOne Moment In Timeâ and Stevie Wonderâs âDonât You Worry âbout a Thingâ.
Elsewhere in the world youngsters have been stunning audiences with their huge talents.

12-year-old contestant on The Voice Kids blows the judges away
On The Voice Kids France Naomi Aye, 12, sang an amazing acoustic version of âBohemian Rhapsodyâ and in The Philippines, tiny 8-year-old singer, Angelico âEchoâ Claridad, won the judges hearts with a staggering version of hit Bee Gees song, âToo Much Heavenâ.
Whereas on the German edition of The Voice Kids, footage of 13-year-old singer, Laura Kamhuber, blowing judges away with a stunning version of Whitney Houstonâs âI Will Always Love Youâ has garnered a staggering 270 million views on YouTube.
Yet it was in the UK where one of the most memorable auditions of recent times took place. In 2020 Daria, Gracie and Jarren who gave a flawless performance of Freddie Mercuryâs âBarcelonaâ in what has been dubbed one of The Voice Kidsâ best ever auditions.