Mary Byrne is a 50 year-old mother who was always a favorite of customers at the Tesco that she works at because she would sing songs as she rang up their purchases.

Mary had been passionate about singing from the time she was a child, but she quit performing at the age of 28 after falling into a depression following a failed relationship. After spending years working as a cashier and raising children, Mary was able to gather up the courage to audition for the Irish singing competition Nollaig No. 1, which she managed to win!

This gave Mary the confidence to try her luck at auditioning for the much larger singing competition of “The X Factor.” When the middle aged mother took the stage, however, judge Simon Cowell could not hide the fact that he was skeptical that she had what it took to be in the competition.

Undeterred, Mary greeted the judges and said she would be performing “I Who Have Nothing” by Tom Jones.

“Big song,” judge Louis Walsh scoffed. As soon as Mary started singing, however, Louis and his fellow judges realized they were wrong to have dismissed her so quickly.

After Mary belted her song, the judges sat in complete disbelief at what they had just heard! Three of the judges heaped praise on Mary, but then it was Simon’s turn…

What Simon said brought Mary to tears, as she could no longer hide her emotions.

Check out the performance below to see Mary sing as well as Simon’s critique for her after. SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!